British Prime Minister Andy Burnham stated on Wednesday that the United Kingdom assesses that the Iranian regime was involved in the attempted terror attack targeting Royal Air Force Base Fairford. “We will provide further details later, but we can confirm that we believe Iran was involved,” Burnham told the BBC. The Prime Minister did not disclose additional operational details at this stage.
Burnham’s stark public declaration comes after police released suspects detained in connection with the incident on bail. It has also emerged that one of the five suspects arrested during the counter-terrorism operation personally telephoned police dispatch, turning himself and his accomplices in after the group had arrived in proximity to the military installation equipped with three vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs).
Intelligence suspicions pointing toward Iranian complicity follow formal warnings issued by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in July, in which Tehran declared that RAF Fairford was firmly in its crosshairs. The threat was made after Iranian intelligence determined that US strategic bombers had taken off from the Gloucestershire air base to execute airstrikes inside Iran. Tehran, for its part, has denied any connection to the foiled plot.