UK Says Iran Likely Behind RAF Fairford Security Incident

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on September 30 that the UK government believes Iran played a part in a security incident at RAF Fairford, an airbase in Gloucestershire used by United States forces, after five British men arrested near the site were released on bail.¹⁴

The incident

The security scare unfolded in the early hours of Sunday morning, when three white vans were reported moving toward RAF Fairford, a base long used by the US Air Force and, according to several sources, for missions connected to Iran. A person living nearby said they saw individuals wearing masks standing beside the vans as they obstructed a road in Whelford, a village close to the base, which led officials to declare a major incident and briefly evacuate dozens of homes before residents were allowed back.⁴⁸²

Counter Terrorism Policing assumed responsibility for the investigation, and three days later took five British men in their 20s—four from Westminster and one from Camden—into custody over suspected explosives and terror-related crimes, which the Guardian reported were later clarified as planning an act of terrorism. Searches of the vans found no explosive devices, but police recovered a quantity of petrol.⁸¹²⁴

The men were released on police bail, reported by some outlets as occurring on Monday, and were made subject to what Burnham described as the strictest possible bail conditions. No charges have been filed.⁴²¹

Iran's alleged role

Burnham chaired an emergency Cobra committee meeting and told reporters the UK now believed Iran was involved. "We have been waiting to confirm what we could say, but we can now confirm our belief that Iran played a part," he said, adding that the case "remains an ongoing, complex, and serious police investigation."⁴⁸

Bloomberg reported Burnham going further, stating that "the UK government believes the Iranian state was behind the security incident at RAF Fairford." He did not provide details explaining the basis for the Iran connection, according to the New York Times.⁵⁷

The Iranian Embassy in London "categorically rejects and strongly condemns the recent unfounded and malicious speculations," the embassy said in a statement. Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor of London's Metropolitan Police said "every possible angle is being investigated, including that this may be activity committed by proxies, or individuals either knowingly or unknowingly, working on behalf of a foreign state."⁴⁶

The claim of Iranian involvement follows a warning the UK says Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued in July, stating that British bases used by the United States would become legitimate targets for attack.⁶

Washington's response

Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, remarked that the incident "clearly involved the hands of a foreign actor. I won't get into great detail about that yet," and described what happened, and what might have happened, as "a very serious situation."⁹

President Donald Trump criticised the decision to release the five men on bail. "I'm just disappointed that they caught terrorists — they did a good job, and then they sort of let them go," he said, adding, "How do you give bail to a terrorist?" and "I wouldn't have done that."⁴⁹

Burnham said UK officials were "working closely with our colleagues in the United States of America" on the investigation and said he "wouldn't hesitate to recall parliament should that be necessary," though MPs are not due back in the Commons until October 12.⁹⁴