ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Two men, including an Iranian national, are set to appear in court over national security offences in connection with a foiled plot targeting the RAF Fairford airbase in late September, British counterterrorism police said Tuesday. 

On 27 September, suspicious activity involving three vehicles near RAF Fairford, a British base used by US troops, in Gloucestershire prompted a major counter-terrorism probe and the evacuation of the surrounding neighborhood.

Six London-based British citizens were arrested in the September incident, including a UK-Iranian dual national. All men in their mid-20s were released on bail, drawing rebuke from Washington.

“Two men have been charged under the National Security Act, following an extensive investigation into activity which took place near RAF Fairford,” The UK counterterrorism police said on Tuesday.

The two men are Nouman Essghir, 24, a British national from London, and Mohmed Ahmad Abdulkarim, 25, a dual UK-Iranian national.

Both are set to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, Laurence Taylor, head of UK Counter Terrorism Policing, said.

Abdulkarim is charged with “an offence to assist a foreign intelligence service,” which London “believes the country to be Iran,” Taylor said, while Essghir has been charged over “suspected activity.”

“The five other men arrested in connection with this investigation remain on police bail,” he added.

Earlier in October, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said that a suspected attack planned on the base was “highly likely” to have been coordinated in Iran and “almost certainly” directed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), with London imposing sanctions on two Iranian nationals in response.

The UK will not tolerate “these threats on our soil,” he said, adding, “We will crack down on Iran's use of criminal networks, using our full range of powers to target them and their funding streams.”

Shortly after, Iran summoned the British ambassador to Tehran over London’s accusations of a link between the Islamic republic and a foiled alleged plot targeting the airbase in late September, demanding evidence to support the claims and warning that it would “reconsider bilateral relations.”

Earlier in October, the US confirmed that it had withdrawn all B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford, following the September incident.

When asked about Iran’s alleged involvement in the incident, US President Donald Trump said earlier in October, “I wouldn’t have done that,” while Secretary of State Marco Rubio alleged that a “foreign actor” was involved.