Trump celebrated the arrest in the United Kingdom of an Iranian operative who planned to destroy a US base

President Donald Trump celebrated this Sunday that the alleged terrorist attack that was planned to be carried out by an Iranian cell against the Fairford airbase of the Royal Air Force in the United Kingdom —where U.S. bombers and troops are currently stationed—has been thwarted.

The base has been used by U.S. forces to carry out the bombing campaign against Iran and, according to the newspaper The Telegraph, British anti-terrorism police are investigating whether Iran was behind the attack.

Trump praised the work of the authorities to stop the plan and noted that the suspects had been under American intelligence surveillance "for a long time." "The arrest in the UK was fantastic. Working with Britain, it was an incredible job. We had them under investigation," the president told reporters on Sunday.

"They were looking to cause great harm to our port, and working with the Brits went very well," he added. "It may have been Scotland Yard. I don't know. We work with many of them. We had them under observation for a long time and we caught them," he added.

Five men remain detained for the plot, whose vans were seen heading towards the airbase. It is suspected that they were transporting chemicals and explosives in these vehicles. Aerial images captured by a news helicopter show an explosive ordnance disposal robot operating near these vans.