US Pulls All B-1 Bombers From British Base at Centre of Terror Investigation
The bombers have returned to the United States. Six suspects were released on bail — a decision Trump called a mistake and which the UK defends.
The United States confirmed on Sunday that it has withdrawn all B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford, the British airbase at the centre of an anti-terrorism investigation following a mysterious security incident last month.
Police were called to the base in southwest England on September 27 after a local farmer reported a group of men in several vans engaged in "suspicious" activity. The incident forced authorities to evacuate 85 homes near the airbase, from which the US has been conducting strikes against Iran.
Investigators found no explosives in the vans, but counter-terrorism police said "a certain amount of petrol" was discovered inside.
A Pentagon spokesperson said in a statement distributed on Sunday: "We can now confirm that all US bombers stationed at RAF Fairford have returned to their permanent bases in the United States." The statement stressed that "operational security considerations did not allow us to confirm movements of our forces and assets in real time."
Speculation about the motive ranged from a terrorist threat to a simple fuel theft, against a backdrop of record-high energy prices in the UK this week. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said there were "serious grounds to believe that Iran played a role" in the episode. Tehran has rejected the accusations.
The six London residents arrested in connection with the case, including a British citizen holding an Iranian passport, were released on bail — a decision that drew criticism from Washington. "I wouldn't have done that," US President Donald Trump told reporters, while his Secretary of State Marco Rubio said "a foreign actor is involved in this."
The Iranian embassy in London said it "categorically rejects and strongly condemns" any suggestion of Tehran's involvement.
In March, the UK allowed Washington to use RAF Fairford for "specific defensive operations against Iran." Since then, American bombers and other aircraft have been repeatedly observed taking off and landing at the base. Fairford is the only airbase on mainland British territory used for these purposes.
For now, the bombers are gone. The investigation continues. The suspects are free on bail. And the question of what exactly happened near RAF Fairford on September 27 — a terror plot, a fuel heist, or something else entirely — remains unanswered. What is clear is that the episode has strained relations between London and Washington at a moment when both are already navigating a fragile Middle East ceasefire.
Written by Martina Kirchner martina.kirchner@alpineweekly.com