UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has accused Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of almost certainly directing a suspected plot targeting RAF Fairford, a military airbase in southwestern England used by the United States Air Force.
Speaking to lawmakers on Monday, October 12, Burnham said British intelligence assessments indicated that the suspected operation was likely coordinated from Iran, raising concerns about foreign interference and the security of military installations in the United Kingdom.
“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 Parliament.
He warned that the British government would take further measures to counter threats allegedly linked to Tehran.
“We will not tolerate these threats on our soil,” he said.
The accusation represents a significant escalation in Britain’s public response to the incident, which triggered a major security operation near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire in late September.
INVESTIGATION TRIGGERS MAJOR SECURITY OPERATION
The investigation began in the early hours of September 27, when police responded to reports involving three suspicious vans near the military installation.
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The operation prompted the evacuation of residents from nearby Whelford as armed officers and military bomb-disposal personnel were deployed to the area.
Police subsequently recovered petrol from vehicles connected to the investigation. However, authorities said no viable explosives had been discovered in the vans.
Seven men in their 20s have been arrested in connection with the suspected plot. All have since been released on police bail, and no charges had been announced as of Monday.
British authorities have not publicly established all the details of the suspected operation, including precisely what the suspects intended to do.
The investigation has nevertheless attracted international attention because RAF Fairford has served as an important operating location for American military aircraft.
IRAN DENIES INVOLVEMENT
Iran has rejected allegations that it was involved in the incident.
Iranian Ambassador to the United Kingdom Seyed Ali Mousavi said Tehran had no connection to the investigation and challenged the British government to provide supporting evidence.
According to Iran’s state news agency IRNA, Mousavi said: “Tehran has had no involvement in this matter, and if the British government possesses any documents or evidence to support its claims, it should present them.”
The competing positions leave the allegations contested, even as British officials express increasing confidence in their assessment of possible Iranian involvement.
UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood also told Parliament that a known individual based in Iran was believed to have coordinated the suspected operation. She did not publicly identify the individual.
The allegations have heightened diplomatic tensions between London and Tehran, although Iran’s alleged involvement has not been established through a public judicial finding.
