UK summons Iranian ambassador over Tehran's alleged involvement in Fairford Base incident

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Monday that the security incident at RAF Fairford, a U.S. base in the United Kingdom, was “almost certainly” directed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Speaking before the House of Commons, Burnham affirmed that “our assessment is that it is highly likely to have been coordinated in Iran, and almost certainly directed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. We will not tolerate these threats on our soil.”

He added, “We will firmly counter Iran’s use of criminal networks, and we will use all our powers to target these networks and their sources of funding. We will also impose further sanctions to limit Iran’s and the IRGC’s ability to harm us.”

On Monday, the British government summoned the Iranian ambassador to express its displeasure over “Iran’s ongoing attempts to undermine the security of the United Kingdom and international partners through its criminal networks, affiliated groups, and state-sponsored malicious activities.”

The incident, which occurred near RAF Fairford in the early hours of September 27, led to the arrest of five British men in their twenties on suspicion of involvement in terrorism and explosives-related offenses.

They were later released on bail “with strict conditions” without being charged, and police said they were considering the possibility of foreign state involvement in the incident.

U.S. President Donald Trump said last week that an Iran-linked threat prompted Washington to withdraw B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford.

U.S. officials told Reuters that there was a suspected plot involving Iran to launch a drone attack.