I think they may have had a lot in common with the Chuckle Brothers. I think they were duped by a power representing Iran and while they were busy to-me to-youing at the base one of them panicked and dialed 999 because they wanted to be caught by the British police rather than American forces who might bundle them in a plane to the land of the free, no questions asked.

That base was on foreign, but I think still mostly allied, territory and planes were leaving from it to bomb Iran, likely it cast its eyes around its borders once in a while.