RAF Fairford plot almost certainly directed by Iran, UK prime minister says

Britain has formally accused Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of directing a suspected terror plot against RAF Fairford, the Gloucestershire military installation used by American long-range bombers.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham told lawmakers in parliament on Monday that an intelligence assessment concluded the operation was "highly likely to have been coordinated in Iran, almost certainly directed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard".

More than 30 international allies, including the United States, Australia, France, and Germany, backed the British findings in a coordinated joint statement. The group condemned Tehran's reliance on proxy groups, lethal plots, arson, and cyber operations across Western nations.

What happened at RAF Fairford

The security alert began in the early hours of 27 September, when police arrested five British men in their 20s near three vans parked by the perimeter of the air base. Officers found petrol stored inside the vehicles, though search teams uncovered no viable explosive devices.

Bomb disposal teams and armed police cordoned off the rural surroundings, temporarily evacuating dozens of nearby residents. Detectives subsequently arrested two further men, including a dual British-Iranian national. All seven individuals were later released on strict police bail, and prosecutors have not charged anyone to date.

RAF Fairford has served as an operational staging ground for American bombers conducting missions against Iranian targets. The United States withdrew those aircraft earlier in October, with the Trump administration citing intelligence indicating an imminent Iranian effort to strike American service personnel and planes stationed there.

Diplomatic fallout and sanctions

Following the assessment, the British government summoned the Iranian ambassador in London to protest against what it termed persistent attempts to undermine national security through criminal networks and proxy entities.

"We will not tolerate these threats on our soil," Burnham told parliament, confirming that Britain will impose further sanctions targeting Iranian financial pipelines and criminal affiliates operating domestically.

Iran's diplomatic mission and state media swiftly rejected the UK claims, describing the accusations as unfounded and malicious speculation. Iranian envoys maintained that Tehran played no part in any planned disruption at the base.