UK and 28 Allies Condemn Iranian Plot Against RAF Fairford

Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced that a suspected terror plot targeting RAF Fairford in southern England on September 27 was almost certainly directed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The incident led to the arrest of five British men in Whelford on suspicion of explosives offenses, as well as a 22-year-old British national and a 25-year-old British-Iranian man. While police found petrol in vans, no explosives were recovered. The air base is a primary European hub for U.S. bombers used to conduct strikes against Iran.

On October 12, the United Kingdom and 28 other nations, including the United States, Canada, France, and Germany, issued a joint statement condemning Iran's use of violent attacks, sabotage, and cyber-attacks. The coalition backed the British attribution of the Fairford incident to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, citing it as evidence of Tehran's use of covert networks and proxies to project hostility. The statement also denounced a broader campaign of attacks across Europe targeting Jewish communities, Iranian journalists, and U.S. interests, which were claimed by the group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya.

In response to the plot, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband sanctioned two Iranian nationals for facilitating hostile activity. Iran's ambassador to the UK, Ali Mousavi, categorically rejected the allegations, labeling them as propaganda and offering Tehran's cooperation in the investigation.