British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Monday that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) almost certainly directed a security incident at the US-run RAF Fairford air base in England last month. The UK government also summoned the Iranian ambassador to protest against what it called Tehran’s attempts to undermine British security.Meanwhile, a joint statement issued by the foreign office and signed by more than 25 countries, including the US, also recognised Britain’s attribution of Iranian involvement in the incident.British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Monday that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) almost certainly directed a suspected plot targeting RAF Fairford, a British air base used by US bombers to strike Iran.“I can confirm our assessment that it is highly likely to have been coordinated in Iran, almost certainly directed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard,” Burnham told lawmakers, “We will not tolerate these threats on our soil,” Burnham said.The suspected plot triggered a security operation on September 27, when dozens of nearby residents were evacuated, and police investigated vans linked to the suspects.The air base has been used by American bombers to strike Iran during the ongoing war. The US withdrew its bombers from RAF Fairford last week. The Trump administration said it believed the base faced Iranian threats aimed at killing as many American troops and destroying as many US aircraft as possible.
Seven arrested, none charged
Police have arrested seven men in connection with the alleged plot. All have since been released on bail, and no one has been charged so far. The suspects are in their 20s. Six are British nationals, while the seventh holds dual British-Iranian citizenship.The incident triggered a major security operation on September 27, when dozens of residents living near the air base were evacuated from their homes. Armed police officers and army bomb-disposal experts were deployed to the rural area.Police later said they had found petrol, an accelerant, in three vans linked to the first five suspects. No explosives were found.Burnham had previously said there were strong indications of Iranian involvement in the apparent plan to target the air base.
UK summons Iranian ambassador
The British government summoned Iran’s ambassador to express its displeasure over what it described as “Iran’s continued attempts to undermine the security of the United Kingdom and international partners through its criminal networks, proxy groups and state-backed malign activity,” it said.According to Iranian state media, Iran’s ambassador to the US also denied the allegations.
