UK Says Iran’s IRGC Directed Incident at Airbase Used by US

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was “almost certainly” responsible for an alleged terror plot at a British airbase used by the US.

Burnham leveled the formal accusation against Iran on Monday during his first appearance in Parliament since the incident late last month at RAF Fairford. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband separately summoned the Iranian ambassador, while more than two dozen British allies, including the US, released a joint statement condemning attacks and hybrid actions by the country.

“I can confirm our assessment that it is highly likely to have been coordinated in Iran, almost certainly directed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard,” Burnham told the House of Commons. “We will not tolerate these threats on our soil. We will crack down on Iran’s use of criminal networks using our full range of powers to target them and our funding streams.”

Burnham had previously said their were “strong indications that Iran played a part” in the incident.

RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, England, serves as the preferred forward operating base for bomber aircraft in Europe for the US Air Force Global Strike Command. Burnham in July approved the use of the base by the US for “defensive strikes” against Iran, continuing the policy of his predecessor, Keir Starmer.

The incident at Fairford has raised questions about the UK’s ability to secure bases vital to the US’s military effort against Iran as President Donald Trump’s administration withdrew American B-1B bombers from the site. UK officials have insisted that its military facilities are secure and some have privately complained that the move by the US has emboldened countries like Iran to conduct further attacks.

Several men remain under investigation by police after being arrested last month on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act at RAF Fairford. While investigators said they didn’t find explosive devices at the scene, they did recover a quantity of fuel. The men were bailed while the probe continues.

Miliband, the foreign secretary, said Britain would “not tolerate threats on our soil” while summoning Iranian Ambassador Seyed Ali Mousavi over the incident on Monday. The Foreign Office also announced sanctions against two Iranian nationals believed to have been involved in “facilitating or engaging in hostile activity on behalf of the Iranian regime, with the clear intent of threatening, planning or conducting attacks overseas.”

Mousavi, in a meeting with junior foreign office Minister Stephen Doughty, rejected the claim that Tehran played a role in the incident at Fairford and urged the UK to refrain from making statements without evidence, according to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency.

The envoy reiterated Iran’s offer of cooperation between relevant institutions in the two countries as part of an investigation into the matter, IRNA reported.

The individuals sanctioned by the UK, who included the head of counterespionage operations within the IRGC and the facilitator of the Zindashti network, were subject to an immediate asset freeze, travel ban and director disqualification.

Britain’s allies acknowledged the UK’s attribution of the Fairford incident in their joint statement, condemning such hybrid attacks. “Any attempt by Iran to threaten, silence, intimidate, harass, harm, or coerce people on our territories through proxies or any other means is unacceptable,” the allies said.