UK Prime Minister Accuses IRGC of Coordinating Fairford Attack

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham expressed his belief in the involvement of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in planning an attack on Fairford Base.

Burnham said on Monday that it is "highly likely" that the suspected plot targeting RAF Fairford was coordinated in Iran, and that it was almost certainly executed under the direction of the IRGC.

US bombers used Fairford Base to carry out strikes against Iran, but US President Donald Trump said last week that an Iran-related threat led to the withdrawal of aircraft.

US officials told Reuters there was a suspected plot involving Iran to launch a drone attack.

Burnham told Parliament, "I can confirm our assessment that it is highly likely this was coordinated in Iran, and almost certainly directed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps."

The suspected plot came to light when five British men were arrested in the early hours of September 27, after being spotted near the base in three trucks, on suspicion of terrorism and explosives offenses.

They were later released on bail "with strict conditions" without charges.

Police stated they found petrol in the trucks but no usable explosives. Investigators said they are examining the possibility of foreign state involvement.

Two other men, including one holding dual British and Iranian citizenship, were also arrested before being released.

Burnham said, "We will not tolerate these threats on our soil. We will firmly counter Iran's use of criminal networks, use all our powers to target these networks and their funding sources, and impose further sanctions to limit Iran's and the IRGC's ability to harm us."

Iran rejected any suggestion of involvement in the Fairford incident, calling it "baseless and malicious speculation."

British authorities have accused Iran of being involved in numerous plots within the UK.

Last July, Britain used new powers to stop the use of state-sponsored proxies to ban support for the IRGC and an affiliated group accused of orchestrating attacks on Jewish and Israeli-linked sites and Persian-language media outlets in the country.