The United States has removed its entire fleet of B-1 strategic bombers from RAF Fairford, a UK air base located northwest of London. The withdrawal of the dozen aircraft comes exactly one week after several individuals were arrested at the facility on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts. A Pentagon spokesman confirmed on Sunday that all US bombers previously deployed to the base have returned to their home stations in the United States, noting that operational security had previously prevented the military from confirming the movement of these assets in real-time.
The security concerns center on a series of arrests that began last Sunday, when five men arrived at the Fairford airfield in three white vans. Although British police reported that no explosives were found in the vehicles, they did discover quantities of fuel. The group was detained after one of the men contacted authorities to report the suspected plot. A sixth individual, described as a dual British-Iranian citizen, was arrested several days later on suspicion of involvement in planning a terrorist act; he has since been released on bail.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham stated that there are "strong indications" of Iranian involvement in the alleged plot targeting the airbase, which has served as a primary staging hub for US bomber strikes during the Iran war. Tehran has rejected these accusations as baseless and subsequently summoned the British ambassador to address the matter. US President Donald Trump remarked that those involved in the plot had planned "big damage," while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also attributed the incident to the "hands of a foreign actor." The base had previously been authorized by the British government to launch strikes against Iranian targets.
