On Thursday at 5:00 p.m. local time, a 34-year-old Iranian man and a 31-year-old woman were arrested outside HM Naval Base Clyde in Scotland after attempting to enter the military facility. The Ministry of Defence confirmed the individuals were denied entry and detained by Police Scotland, prompting a brief security lockdown of the nuclear deterrent site.
The pair approached the sensitive site, widely known as Faslane, and requested access. Ministry of Defence Police refused their entry. Authorities reported the individuals remained in the vicinity in their vehicle and exhibited suspicious behavior, leading to their detention. Sniffer dogs were deployed to search the vehicle for explosives.
The facility, located northwest of Glasgow, serves as the operational home for the United Kingdom’s nuclear deterrent. It houses Vanguard-class submarines armed with Trident nuclear missiles and Astute-class hunter-killer submarines. According to the Ministry of Defence, the suspects did not gain access to the interior of the base, and the incident is not currently being assessed as highly severe.
The arrests occurred amid heightened domestic security protocols concerning Iranian threats. The domestic intelligence agency MI5 has previously issued warnings regarding espionage and assassination plots on British soil. Reflecting these wider world security concerns, two separate Iranian nationals appeared in a Westminster court on Thursday facing charges related to hostile surveillance of Jewish targets in London. Police Scotland and the Royal Navy officially confirmed the ongoing investigation into the Faslane incident on Friday morning.