Prime Minister Andy Burnham has formally attributed responsibility for recent threats against the RAF Fairford military base to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). In his strongest assessment to date regarding the incident, which occurred late last month, the Prime Minister told Parliament that the event was "highly likely to have been coordinated in Iran, almost certainly directed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards."
The announcement follows an ambiguous security incident on September 27, when five men from London drove three white vans to Whelford, a village situated adjacent to the US-operated air base, shortly after midnight. While the individuals were arrested, no explosives or bombs were discovered, and they were released on police bail the following day. Despite the passage of over a fortnight, authorities have yet to bring formal charges against anyone involved in the specific incident at the base.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood confirmed to the House of Commons that Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has summoned the Iranian ambassador to address the matter. Furthermore, the UK government is moving to impose additional sanctions on Tehran and the IRGC. The government is also sanctioning two specific individuals accused of conducting espionage and attacks on behalf of the Iranian state within Europe and the United States. Mahmood emphasized that the UK "will not hesitate to take further action to restrict Iran’s capacity to threaten international security."
The security concerns at RAF Fairford led to the withdrawal of 12 B-1 bombers one week after the incident, amid reports that the US government held anxieties regarding potential drone attacks on the site, which had previously been utilized for operations in the Middle East earlier this year. A joint statement released by the UK, US, and other European allies concluded that the event highlights the IRGC's "continued willingness to project hostile activity beyond its borders through covert networks and proxy actors."
While some experts have suggested the incident might have been a "feint" to test the security of an open site, British officials have consistently maintained that Iran lacks the capability to execute a sophisticated drone strike. The incident at Fairford is being viewed within the context of a broader campaign of attacks across Europe targeting US interests, Iranian journalists, and Jewish communities, which have been claimed by a group identified as Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI).
In a separate but related development, two Iranian nationals, Salam Ahmadyan from Liverpool and Rahman Salehi from Salford, were charged last week with terror offences. They are accused of attempting to target the Jewish community in Manchester using a homemade chlorine powder bomb. Prosecutors allege that the pair received instructions on how to prepare an explosive device from a third party believed to be located in Iran. A trial for this case has been scheduled to take place at the Old Bailey.
