President Donald Trump confirmed Monday that the US military moved its bombers from RAF Fairford in England because of "some threats" to the base, saying the aircraft "didn't fly out by accident."
The Pentagon removed about a dozen B-1 bombers from the Gloucestershire airbase and returned them to their home stations in the United States. Trump told reporters as he departed for Nebraska that Washington "actually knows the people that made the threat" but did not identify them.
The withdrawal appears connected to a September 27 incident when police responded to three suspicious vehicles near RAF Fairford. Counter-terrorism police arrested six men in connection with the incident. Five were arrested on suspicion of terror offences and later released on bail. A sixth man, identified as a UK-Iranian national, was also arrested and released on bail.
Whitehall sources have not disputed that the bomber withdrawal responded to the incident. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said there were "strong indications" Iran played a role, though he provided no details. Rubio said the incident "clearly involve[d] the hands of a foreign actor." Tehran has denied involvement.
US media outlets reported unnamed officials speculated the potential threat involved sabotage attempts or strikes on the expensive aircraft. One White House source pointed to Ukraine's Operation Spiderweb, a covert drone attack on five Russian bases in June 2023, as an example of what an enemy force could accomplish at distance.
Vice President JD Vance said the bombers were moved out of "an abundance of caution," adding Washington believed Iran was engaged in "acts of terrorism." Secretary of State Marco Rubio took a more cautious tone, saying it was "not unusual" for military assets to rotate around the world and emphasizing the US retained "full confidence in the security of all its bases." Rubio stressed British authorities had been cooperative.
RAF Fairford, located near the village of Whelford in the Cotswolds, has served as a US Air Force forward operating location for decades. In recent months, the US has flown B-1 and B-52 bombers from the base for operations in the Middle East after the UK approved its use for defensive strikes on Iran.
Christoph Bergs, a research analyst at the Royal United Services Institute, told Reuters the redeployment would reduce America's capacity to quickly surge sorties against Iran.