UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham told parliament on Monday, 12 October, that the government judges the planned attack near RAF Fairford to have been “highly likely” coordinated in Iran and “almost certainly” directed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Tehran denies this.
As France 24 reports, citing Reuters, Burnham told the House of Commons that he confirmed the government’s assessment: the incident was “highly likely” coordinated in Iran and “almost certainly” directed by the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC). He added: “we will not tolerate these threats on our soil.”
Sanctions announced
According to Arab News, the prime minister said the UK will begin tackling Iran’s use of criminal networks. The government will use its “full range of powers” to strike at these networks and their financing. Burnham also announced further sanctions designed to limit the capabilities of Iran and the IRGC. London has summoned the Iranian ambassador for talks at the Foreign Office. Iran rejects any link to the incident, as France 24 reports.
What is known about the incident
The event took place just after midnight on 27 September near the base in Gloucestershire. Police then arrested five men on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act and offences involving explosive materials. According to France 24, they were released without charge, on bail and under “strict conditions”. UPI writes of seven people detained; France 24 mentions five, plus two others who were arrested. The discrepancy needs clarification. No one has been charged, and few details of the alleged plot have been made public.
American officials told Reuters about a suspected plot involving Iran, whose target was allegedly a drone attack. President Donald Trump said last week that a threat linked to Iran had prompted the US to withdraw bombers from the base. UPI reports that this involved 12 B-1 bombers, withdrawn about a week after the incident.
Why Fairford
The base in south-west England is used by the American air force. US bombers flew from it to strike Iran during the war that has been under way since March, as Al Jazeera among others has reported. Previously, we wrote about the treaty between Poland and the United Kingdom, which concerns defence cooperation between the two countries.
What it means
For now, this is the government’s assessment, not a court verdict: those detained are suspects and have not been charged. The consequences are new sanctions against Iran and the IRGC, and measures against criminal networks linked to them in the UK; their scope and timing have not been given. For readers in Poland, the matter matters indirectly: it shows that the conflict with Iran reaches military infrastructure of NATO states in Europe, and British authorities are speaking of a threat on their own territory.
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