British prosecutors have charged a man with assisting a "foreign intelligence service" following an incident at a military base used by the United States for strikes on Iran. The Crown Prosecution Service announced the charges on Tuesday.
Mohmed Abdulkarim, 24, faces an offense under the National Security Act in connection with an incident involving RAF Fairford, an air base in west England. Prosecutors allege that between Aug. 31 and Sept. 28 he engaged in conduct that would likely materially assist a foreign intelligence service in carrying out U.K.-related activities. The foreign country has not been named.
A second man, Nouman Essghir, also 24, has been charged with entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the UK. Both men are due to appear in court in London on Tuesday.
The charges follow the arrest of five people near RAF Fairford on Sept. 28 on suspicion of explosives and terrorism offenses. The base has served as the U.S. Air Force's command outpost for operations from Europe, as well as for American strikes on Iranian missile sites.
Frank Ferguson, a chief prosecutor in the Crown Prosecution Service's Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said the charges came after "a Counter Terrorism Policing investigation into a high-profile incident involving RAF Fairford." He added: "We will continue to work closely with our partners as this complex investigation continues."
After the arrests, U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States had moved its long-range bombers out of the U.K. in response to a threat "linked to Iran."
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Andy Burnham told lawmakers the incident was "highly likely to have been coordinated in Iran, almost certainly directed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard."
The Revolutionary Guard had warned over the summer that it considered any military base involved in launching airstrikes on Iran to be a legitimate target. Tehran has denied any involvement in the incident at RAF Fairford.
