US Withdraws Bombers From UK Base Amid Iranian Plot

The United States Air Force rapidly redeployed 12 B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, United Kingdom, to their home stations in the United States over the weekend. The withdrawal was prompted by urgent intelligence warnings of an Iran-backed terror plot targeting the base and U.S. military personnel. The operation was so hurried that some crews departed while aerial refueling aircraft were still being scrambled.

British authorities arrested six individuals in connection with the plot, including five British nationals and one British-Iranian dual national. All suspects have since been released on bail. In a separate incident, British counter-terrorism police charged two Iranian men for a plot involving homemade explosives targeting Jewish people in Manchester. Prime Minister Andy Burnham stated there are "strong indications that Iran played a part" in the air base operation.

U.S., British, German, and Israeli officials link the plot to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which has previously declared any base used to launch attacks on Iranian territory a "legitimate target." RAF Fairford has served as a staging post for U.S. strikes against Tehran. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps is accused of using a "gig economy hybrid model of warfare," hiring local criminals or disenfranchised youth via anonymous online platforms and cryptocurrency to maintain deniability. Iran has denied the accusations.