UK attributes RAF Fairford plot to Iran’s IRGC after US bombers withdrawn

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the House of Commons on 12 October that a suspected plot targeting RAF Fairford was highly likely to have been coordinated in Iran and almost certainly directed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The base in Gloucestershire had hosted US B-1 bombers used for strikes on Iran. The United States withdrew all 12 of the aircraft earlier in October after intelligence indicated an Iranian drone threat.

The incident began in the early hours of 27 September when Gloucestershire police received a call about three suspicious vehicles heading toward the base. Armed officers detained five men near Whelford. Further arrests brought the total to seven men in their 20s, including one dual UK-Iranian national. All were later released on bail under stringent conditions. No charges have been filed. Police found petrol but no viable explosive device in the vans.

Burnham said Britain would not tolerate threats on its soil and would target Iranian criminal networks, their funding and the IRGC’s capacity to operate in the country. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband summoned the Iranian ambassador. The UK designated two Iranian nationals, including Ruhollah Bazghandi, described as the IRGC’s head of counter-espionage operations, for asset freezes, travel bans and other restrictions. A joint statement from the US, UK and more than 20 other countries condemned Iran for lethal plotting, arson, sabotage and cyber-attacks.

Iran’s ambassador to the UK, Seyed Ali Mousavi, told IRNA that Tehran categorically rejects the allegations and called them unfounded. Iranian state media described the claims as malicious speculation and demanded evidence. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told lawmakers a known individual based in Iran was thought to have coordinated the plot.

The US withdrawal of the B-1s emptied Britain’s only heavy-bomber deployment in Europe at the time. Trump has linked the move to threats he associated with Iran. The Fairford episode sits alongside Houthi attacks on Saudi airports and the wider 2026 Iran conflict. British assessments of state direction rest on the coordination judgment given by the Prime Minister; open sources do not include the underlying intelligence.

The seven men remain uncharged. The concrete outcomes are the formal UK attribution, the ambassador summons, the sanctions designations and the prior removal of US bombers from the base.