File photo: US President Donald Trump (Picture credit: AP)
The Pentagon confirmed Sunday that US bombers, believed to include around a dozen B-1 aircraft, had been moved from RAF Fairford back to their home stations in the United States. Trump’s remarks appear to reinforce reports that a new security threat prompted the redeployment following an incident near the airbase on September 27. The base has been used in previous US military operations, including the 1990 Gulf War and the 2003 Iraq war, as well as this year’s US-Israeli bombardment of Iran. “We do feel with some confidence that the Iranians are, you know, they’re trying to do what the Iranian state has done for 49 years, which is engage in acts of terrorism against the United States and against a lot of other people as well.
Five men were subsequently arrested on suspicion of terrorism-related offences and later released on bail. A sixth suspect, a British-Iranian dual national, was arrested separately and also released on bail.
US President Donald Trump said Monday that “some threats” prompted the United States to withdraw its bombers from RAF Fairford in Britain, suggesting the move was linked to a security concern at the airbase. Trump said the aircraft did not leave the base by chance and that Washington knew who had made the threat, although he did not identify the individuals or provide details about the nature of the threat. Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump was asked whether a “specific threat” had led to the withdrawal of the bombers. British police had been alerted to three “suspicious vehicles” travelling towards RAF Fairford. Police have said no explosives were found in the vans involved in the initial security alert. Trump said Washington “actually knows the people that made the threat”, but stopped short of identifying them. “Whatever they thought it was, it was taken extremely seriously,” the source said. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said there are “strong indications” that Iran played a part in the incident, without providing details about what the suspects allegedly planned or the basis for the assessment. Laurence Taylor, head of UK Counter Terrorism Policing, said investigators were examining whether the alleged offences were carried out by “proxies or individuals, either knowingly or unknowingly, working on behalf of a foreign state. Iran’s embassy in Britain rejected the allegations, condemning what it described as “unfounded and malicious speculations published by some British individuals and media outlets” linking Tehran to the suspected plot. Rubio said: “It’s not unusual to see movement of assets to different parts of the world based on exercises, redeployments, people changing out and new people coming in, new planes coming in and old planes going out. He said the US continued to have full confidence in the security of its bases and praised British authorities for their cooperation following the incident. US Vice President JD Vance said the bombers had been moved out of an “abundance of caution” and accused Iran of continuing a long-standing pattern of terrorism. So, we are being extremely cautious,” he said.
Trump replied: “Yeah I think we can say that. They didn’t fly out by accident. He added: “There were some threats. And rather than tempting the enemy, we’ll capture the enemy and beat the enemy. But why should we leave them there? So we moved them around a little bit. Not very far. The exact nature of the threat remains unclear. US sources cited by British media have speculated that it could have involved possible sabotage or an attempt to target the expensive aircraft stationed at the base. One source close to the White House pointed to Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb, in which drones attacked Russian military bases, as an example of how an adversary could potentially strike sensitive military assets from a distance. RAF Fairford, located in Gloucestershire’s Cotswolds, hosts the headquarters of the US Air Force’s 501st Combat Support Wing and serves as a forward operating location for US Air Force Global Strike Command. The developments have fuelled questions over whether the security incident was connected to Iran. British authorities have indicated that Iran may have been involved, while Tehran has denied any role. However, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio adopted a more cautious position, refusing to directly link the police investigation to the withdrawal of the bombers. British officials have meanwhile maintained that RAF Fairford is safe, leaving unanswered questions over what prompted Washington to move the bombers and whether the suspected plot was directly connected to Iran. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.
Trump had earlier criticised the decision to release the first five suspects on bail and suggested Iran could have been involved.