The United States has withdrawn all of its B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford in England following an investigation into a suspected attack plot against the base, the Pentagon said on Sunday.
The Pentagon said the aircraft had gone back to their home stations in the United States. Around a dozen B-1s were based at Fairford, in Gloucestershire, which has served as a forward hub for U.S. bomber operations against Iran during the current war. Britain’s Defence Ministry declined to comment on the deployment. The Wall Street Journal first reported the withdrawal.
British counter-terrorism police detained five British men on Sept. 27 near the base after spotting three suspicious vans. On Oct. 1, officers arrested a 25-year-old British-Iranian dual national on suspicion of preparing acts of terrorism. Six people have been held in total, and all were later freed on bail while inquiries continue.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said there were strong indications of Iranian involvement but stressed that the police investigation was not finished. Police said they were examining whether a foreign state played a role but have not publicly named Iran. Tehran denies any involvement.
According to the Journal, U.S. intelligence officials knew of an Iran-linked plan to attack the bombers and kill personnel at Fairford. A senior U.S. official told the paper that a branch of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had recruited British nationals for the scheme. Britain has not endorsed the U.S. account, and some British officials have questioned how sophisticated the plot was.
Tensions between the allies have risen over the case. U.S. officials were angered that suspects were released so quickly, and President Donald Trump said he found the releases hard to understand, according to media reports. Some reports said Washington has been in contact with Poland about a large American base there, but that has not been confirmed.
Separately, a U.S. official said last week that the carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and an amphibious group carrying more than 7,000 sailors and 2,000 Marines were heading to the Middle East, where the United States maintains a large military presence.
