US military aircraft pulled from second UK base after ‘Iran threat’
At least 10 refueling planes relocated from RAF Mildenhall to other European bases and Scotland
Quick Look
- The U.S. has relocated at least 10 refueling aircraft from RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk to other European and Scottish bases due to an alleged threat from Iran.
- This follows a previous security incident involving suspicious activity at RAF Fairford.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The relocation follows a security incident at RAF Fairford involving suspicious vans and subsequent arrests. MI5 recently reported a quadrupling of foreign threats against the UK over the last decade.
LONDON — The U.S. has evacuated refueling aircraft from an RAF base in Britain after registering an alleged threat from Iran.
At least 10 U.S. planes left RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk on Monday, according to the BBC, and landed at other American bases in Europe and at Prestwick Airport in Scotland.
The operation was first reported by the Wall Street Journal and confirmed by two U.K. officials briefed on the matter.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “We do not routinely comment on the activity of other nations. Aircraft and other assets move regularly according to operational requirements.”
It comes weeks after an Iran-linked security incident at RAF Fairford, which saw the U.S. pull its bombers out of the base and return them to America.
A major incident was declared after three suspicious vans were seen near Fairford, which led to eight arrests. Two British nationals appeared in court in October in connection with an alleged plot connected to Iran.
Conservative Party Leader Kemi Badenoch said on Tuesday that the latest U.S. withdrawal of assets is “very concerning, and our government’s got absolutely nothing to say about it.”
Education Secretary Lucy Powell said earlier: “We take the security of our bases incredibly seriously, and we take action where necessary with our allies to keep them absolutely safe.”
Head of the MI5 intelligence service Ken McCallum said last month that threats from foreign adversaries against the U.K. had quadrupled in the last decade, including an increase in Iran-sponsored aggression against Jewish sites and military bases.
Open Questions
- What is the specific nature of the threat from Iran?
- Will further U.S. assets be relocated from the UK?
