{"text":[[{"start":8.36,"text":"US secretary of state Marco Rubio said a “foreign actor” was involved in a suspected terrorist plot near a British air force base this weekend, in remarks that will intensify global scrutiny of the incident."}],[{"start":20.44,"text":"Rubio did not name a specific country but described the weekend’s events, in which five British men were arrested near RAF Fairford, as a “very serious thing” and said further details would be released in the coming days."}],[{"start":33.08,"text":"“Suffice it to say that what happened, what almost happened, what could have happened in the UK over the weekend is a very serious situation,” Rubio told Fox News’ Hannity show on Monday."}],[{"start":43.9,"text":"“It’s one that clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor,” he said. “I won’t get into great detail about that yet.”"}],[{"start":50.96,"text":"The base at Fairford belongs to the UK’s Royal Air Force but has been used by the US Air Force to conduct what it classes as defensive strikes on Iran."}],[{"start":60.26,"text":"The remarks from Washington’s top diplomat come after the five men, who were arrested on Sunday, were released on bail the next day, an unexpected development that was criticised by US President Donald Trump."}],[{"start":71.96,"text":"“We know everything about them,” Trump said. “We would not have released them.”"}],[{"start":77.24,"text":"Rubio said “a lot of people” had been “disturbed” by the bail decision, but he praised the response by British authorities. “I would argue that they’ve been very co-operative and very helpful,” he said."}],[{"start":null,"text":"
"}],[{"start":87.88,"text":"Laurence Taylor, head of National Counter Terrorism Policing for the UK, acknowledged earlier on Monday there was “significant interest” in whether the “current geopolitical context” had a bearing on the incident."}],[{"start":99.08,"text":"“We are considering this from every possible angle, including that this may be activity committed by proxies, or individuals either knowingly or unknowingly working on behalf of a foreign state,” he added."}],[{"start":111.6,"text":"In his remarks, Rubio noted that Iran had “openly threatened to attack American interests globally”, though he did not explicitly link Tehran to the incident."}],[{"start":120.44,"text":"The Iranian embassy in London on Monday said it “categorically” rejected and strongly condemned speculation that Tehran was involved in any plan to target RAF Fairford."}],[{"start":132.12,"text":"The five men, who are all in their twenties, were detained after a local farmer tipped off police. They were held under suspicion of offences under the Explosives and Terrorism acts."}],[{"start":142.96,"text":"Taylor said that despite being released on bail, the men continued to be suspects."}],[{"start":147.96,"text":"“There’s a lot more news that will come out on this in the days to come,” Rubio said. “There’s only so much I can say right now at this point about it, other than this is a very serious thing. And it was responded to appropriately.”"}],[{"start":167.44,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1790654799_6749.mp3"}