UK blames Iran for airbase plot, sanctions two Iranian nationals

Britain’s Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said that a suspected plot targeting Royal Air Force (RAF) base Fairford was “almost certainly” directed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), raising the diplomatic stakes over the largely unexplained incident for which Tehran has denied any responsibility.

“We will not tolerate these threats on our soil,” Burnham told parliament on Monday, adding that the government, “will crack down on Iran’s use of criminal networks, using our full range of powers to target them and their funding streams”.

“We will bring further sanctions to restrict the capacity of Iran and the IRGC to do us harm”, he said.

The incident near the airbase in southern England occurred in the early hours of September 27 when five British men in their 20s were arrested on suspected “terrorism” and explosives offences.

Police said they found a supply of petrol in three vans linked to the suspects, but no explosives.

They were later released without charge on ‌‌‌‌police ⁠⁠⁠⁠bail “under stringent conditions”. Last week, Counter Terrorism Policing arrested a 22-year-old British national on suspicion of a “terror” offence linked to the security incident. Earlier this month, a 25-year-old British-Iranian man was arrested in London.

In a statement on X, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said Britain was sanctioning two Iranians for their “role in facilitating or engaging in hostile activity on behalf of the Iranian regime”, without specifying their identity.

“We have repeatedly made clear to Iran, Britain will not tolerate threats on our soil”, he said.

The move came as 29 countries, including Britain, the US, most European states, Canada, Australia and New Zealand issued a joint statement on Monday blaming Iran for the attempted infiltration.

“Any attempt by Iran to threaten, silence, intimidate, harass, harm, or coerce people on our territories through proxies or any other means is unacceptable”, it said.

‘Categorical rejection’

On Monday, Ali Mousavi, Iran’s ambassador to the UK, met Stephen Doughty, the UK’s minister for the Middle East, and “categorically rejected” allegations of any Iranian role while urging “the British side to refrain from any unsubstantiated statements”.

Mousavi told British authorities that Tehran is willing to cooperate with the investigation into the incident, Iran’s ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠state news agency IRNA reported.

Iran’s embassy in London issued a statement last month saying Iran “categorically rejects and strongly condemns the recent unfounded and malicious speculations” attempting to link the country to the arrests, adding that it will “fuel Iranophobia propaganda”.

The US moved its B-52 and B-1 bombers from the base earlier this month.

RAF Fairford has served as a stopping point for US bombers participating in the war against Iran, which began more than seven months ago, on February 28.

Located roughly 160km (100 miles) west of London, RAF Fairford is the preferred European base for US bombers. Their withdrawal was made over concerns about a suspected Iranian plot to carry out a complex drone attack on the facility, according to US officials.