US aircraft evacuated from second UK base due to Iran threat, WSJ reports
Summary
The U.S. military moved aircraft from RAF Mildenhall in Britain to Germany and other locations on Monday after a threat from Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported. Two refueling tankers diverted to Germany earlier in the day, and several others were moved later. The precise nature of the threat remained under discussion among U.S. officials. The move followed the withdrawal of U.S. bombers from RAF Fairford after a suspected Iran-linked security incident.
Key Facts
- The Wall Street Journal report cited people familiar with the matter.
- A British Ministry of Defense spokesperson said aircraft and other assets move regularly according to operational requirements and declined to comment on other nations’ activity.
- Five men were arrested outside RAF Fairford in September, and two others were later arrested on suspicion of assisting Iranian intelligence.
- British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said last month that activity at RAF Fairford was likely coordinated in Iran, an allegation Tehran’s ambassador to Britain denied.
Signage at the entrance road to RAF Mildenhall, which hosts US Air Force (USAF) personnel and units, near Mildenhall, Suffolk, Britain, Sept. 27. Reuters-Yonhap
The US military evacuated aircraft from a second airbase in Britain on Monday after a threat from Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter, weeks after the US withdrew its bombers from RAF Fairford airbase over a suspected Iran-linked security incident.
Two US refueling tankers that were using the RAF Mildenhall military base diverted to Germany earlier on Monday, while several other tankers at the base were moved to Germany and other locations later in the day, the WSJ report said.
According to the Journal, the precise nature of the threat to RAF Mildenhall remains under discussion among US officials.
“We do not routinely comment on the activity of other nations. Aircraft and other assets move regularly according to operational requirements,” a British ministry of defense spokesperson said.
The Pentagon and the US European Command did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment sent outside regular business hours.
Five men were arrested outside RAF Fairford airbase in southwest England in September over a security incident with two others arrested later on suspicion of assisting Iranian intelligence.
The circumstances of the incident, which remain largely unexplained, attracted huge international attention, coming at a time of heightened concern about the security implications for Western states of the war between the United States and Iran, and prompted the US to remove its B-1 bombers from the Fairford airbase on security grounds.
RAF Fairford had been used by US bombers to carry out strikes on Iran.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said last month that the activity at RAF Fairford was likely to have been coordinated in Iran, which Tehran's ambassador to Britain has denied.
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