Burnham: Iran probably responsible for military base incident

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Lerato Khumalo

Incident at US military base

Burnham: Iran probably responsible for military base incident

Updated 10/12/2026 – 7:41 p.mReading time: 2 minutes

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At the end of September, several men were arrested and the Pentagon withdrew all long-range bombers (archive photo). (Source: Ben Birchall/PA Wire/dpa/dpa-bilder)

Several men are suspected of planning an attack on a military base in Great Britain. Now the British Prime Minister says: Those were the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

According to the British Prime Minister, the incident at a US military base in England is behind it Andy Burnham with a very high probability Iran. “I can confirm our assessment that the attack was most likely coordinated in Iran and almost certainly directed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” he told parliament in London.

Burnham announced sanctions. “We will crack down on Iran’s use of criminal networks and use our full range of powers to target these networks and their financial flows.”

In a joint statement they condemned USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and numerous European states, including Germany, launched violent Iranian attacks in response to the British assessment. Deadly plots, sabotage and cyber attacks were explicitly mentioned in the statement shared by the US State Department.

The states also emphasized that the incident took place at the end of September Great Britain occurred after a series of attacks in Europe that targeted Jews, Iranian journalists and US interests and were claimed by the pro-Iranian group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (HAYI). “Any attempt by Iran, through proxies or otherwise, to threaten, silence, intimidate, harass, harm or coerce people in our territories is unacceptable,” the statement said.

From arrests to bomber withdrawal – what happened before

At the end of September, five men were near the British military base used by the US Air Force RAF Fairford was picked up. You are suspected of preparing a terrorist act. She is also being investigated on suspicion of violating the Explosives Act. They have since been released under strict conditions. In the following days, two other suspects were arrested and then also released under conditions.

US Air Force B1 bomberEnlarge the image
The US military recently surprisingly withdrew all of its long-range bombers from the base in Great Britain. (Archive image) (Source: Alastair Grant/AP/dpa/dpa-bilder)

The Pentagon unexpectedly withdrew all long-range bombers from the base earlier this month. US President Donald Trump spoke of threats without giving further details. US media reported that fears of a possible Iranian drone attack were the reason for this.

There were urgent concerns about a potential complex attack ordered by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, wrote the Wall Street Journal, citing US and European officials briefed on the matter. The planned attack was part of a complex Iranian plot aimed at attacking the aircraft and killing personnel at the RAF Fairford base, including US pilots.