Two Charged After Attempted Breach of UK Naval Base Housing Nuclear Submarines
British police said the two suspects, an Iranian and a Romanian, have been charged and will appear in court following the attempted breach of the Faslane naval base.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - A 34-year-old Iranian man and a 31-year-old Romanian woman have been charged after attempting to enter a Royal Navy base in Scotland that houses Britain’s nuclear submarine fleet, police said on Saturday, according to AFP.
According to a statement from Scottish police cited by AFP, the two individuals were arrested on Thursday after trying to breach the Faslane base, where the United Kingdom’s Trident nuclear deterrent is stationed. The facility hosts four submarines armed with Trident ballistic missiles, officials said.
Police said the pair have been formally charged in connection with the incident and are scheduled to appear in court in the Scottish town of Dumbarton on Monday, AFP reported.
The attempted breach comes amid heightened security concerns in Britain, where authorities and lawmakers have warned of what they describe as a growing threat of Iranian espionage. UK police and the domestic MI5 intelligence service have previously raised concerns regarding activities linked to Iran within the country, according to AFP.
Officials have also expressed concern that Britain could face increased risks due to its role in ongoing military operations involving the United States and Israel. The British government has authorized American forces to use certain UK bases in support of operations related to the conflict with Iran, AFP reported.
According to official statements cited by AFP, these measures include permitting the United States to use facilities such as Fairford in England and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. British authorities have said the operations conducted from these bases are “defensive” in nature.
The United Kingdom has also deployed air assets to support Middle Eastern allies targeted in what officials describe as Iran’s retaliatory actions, AFP reported. These steps have been presented by the government as part of broader efforts to maintain regional stability and protect key interests.
In a separate development, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer of “putting British lives in danger” by allowing British bases to be used for what he described as “aggression against Iran,” according to AFP.
No further details have been released regarding the circumstances of the attempted entry at the Faslane base or whether any security breaches occurred beyond the initial attempt. Authorities have not disclosed additional information about the suspects.