UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Monday that a suspected plot targeting Royal Air Force (RAF) Fairford was "almost certainly" directed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), heightening diplomatic tensions over an incident that remains largely unexplained and that Tehran has denied any responsibility for.
"We will not tolerate these threats on our soil," Burnham told parliament, asserting that the government "will crack down on Iran's use of criminal networks, using all our powers to target them and their funding sources."
He said the UK would impose additional sanctions aimed at limiting Iran's and the IRGC's ability to cause harm.
The incident near the military base in southern England occurred in the early hours of September 27, when five British men in their 20s were arrested on suspicion of "terrorism"-related offences and possession of explosive materials. Police said they found a quantity of petrol in three vans linked to the suspects, but no explosives.
The men were subsequently released without charge on "strict" bail conditions. Last week, counter-terrorism officers arrested a 22-year-old British citizen on suspicion of "terrorism" offences connected to the security incident. Earlier this month, a 25-year-old man holding dual British-Iranian nationality was also arrested in London.
In a statement on X, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said the UK was sanctioning two Iranian nationals for their "role in facilitating or participating in hostile activity on behalf of the Iranian regime," though he did not name them.
"We have repeatedly made clear to Iran that the UK will not tolerate threats on our soil," he said.
The move came the same day as 29 countries — including the UK, the US, most European nations, Canada, Australia and New Zealand — issued a joint statement blaming Iran for the suspected infiltration.
"Any attempt by Iran to threaten, silence, intimidate, harass, harm or coerce people on our territories through proxies or by any other means is unacceptable," the statement said.
'Categorical rejection'
On the same day, Iran's ambassador to the UK, Ali Mousavi, met British Minister for the Middle East Stephen Doughty and "categorically rejected" accusations of any Iranian role, calling on "the British side to avoid any unfounded statements."
Mousavi told British officials that Tehran was ready to cooperate with the investigation into the incident, according to Iran's state news agency IRNA.
Iran's embassy in London said in a statement last month that Iran "categorically rejects and strongly condemns recent baseless and malicious speculation" seeking to link the country to the arrests, saying it would "inflame anti-Iran propaganda."
The US moved B-52 and B-1 bombers out of the base earlier this month. RAF Fairford is a staging post for US bombers taking part in the war against Iran, which began on February 28, more than seven months ago.
Located about 160 km west of London, RAF Fairford is the preferred European base for US bombers. According to US officials, the aircraft withdrawal followed concerns about a suspected Iranian plot to carry out a sophisticated drone attack on the base.
