Trump Confirms B-1 Bombers Left RAF Fairford Over Iran-Linked Threats — But Britain Insists the Base Is Safe
"We actually know the people that made the threat," Trump said at the White House. Five suspects have been released on bail, prompting Washington's anger and a dispute with London over the investigation.
US President Donald Trump confirmed on Monday that the United States withdrew all B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford because of unspecified threats he linked to Iran — even as the British government continued to insist the airbase was safe. The Pentagon had earlier acknowledged the bombers had returned to permanent bases in the United States.
"There were some threats," Trump told reporters at the White House. "And rather than tempting the enemy — we'll capture the enemy and beat the enemy, but why should we leave them there? So we moved them around a little bit, not very far." He declined to comment directly on reports that the threat involved attack drones, but added: "I can't tell you that but if they did they'll suffer greatly." Trump went further, saying the United States knew who had made the threats and that "they would be linked to Iran."
The withdrawal follows an incident on September 27, when police were called to the base in southwest England after a local farmer reported a group of men in several vans engaged in "suspicious" activity. The incident triggered a major counter-terrorism investigation and forced the evacuation of 85 homes near the airbase, from which the US had been launching what it described as defensive strikes on Iran. Investigators found no explosives in the vans, but counter-terrorism police said "a quantity of petrol was recovered."
Five suspects arrested at the time and a British-Iranian national detained afterwards have all since been released on bail. Trump had already rebuked British authorities for that decision, saying "I wouldn't have done that," and his Secretary of State Marco Rubio said "a foreign actor is involved in this."
Two US officials told American media that the bombers were moved after commanders received new threats about an Iran-backed plot. One official said the new information was part of the same warnings that surfaced three weeks ago, but that the situation became urgent within the last 24 hours.
London, however, is holding a different line. Asked whether the base was safe, a spokesman for UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham replied simply: "Yes." He added: "We have tried and tested approaches to defend our bases around the country and throughout the world." Burnham had previously said there were "strong indications that Iran played a part" in the incident — a charge Tehran has rejected. Iran's embassy in London said it "categorically rejects and strongly condemns" speculation that the Islamic Republic was involved.
The incident has also fuelled a parallel debate in Britain about what actually happened that night. With energy prices hitting record highs, speculation about the motive ranged from a terrorist plot to something far more mundane: an attempt to steal fuel. British officials have not ruled out either possibility.
For now, the bombers are gone, the suspects are free on bail, and the two governments are telling different stories about the same airbase. Trump says the threat was real and linked to Iran. Burnham says the base is safe. Tehran denies everything. And the question of who was in those vans, and why, remains unresolved. What is clear is that RAF Fairford — the only base on mainland Britain used by the US for strikes against Iran — has become a flashpoint in a conflict that neither side can afford to ignore.
Written by Thomas Nussbaumer thomas.nussbaumer@alpineweekly.com