US’s Marco Rubio says UK airbase incident involved ‘foreign actor’

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that a foreign entity was involved in a suspected bomb plot at a UK airbase utilized by the US for attacks on Iran. Five British men in their twenties were released on bail on Monday as investigators probed the incident involving suspicious vehicles spotted near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire on Sunday early hours.

British authorities were probing if individuals acting on behalf of a foreign state were implicated in the alleged plot. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had previously declared the base as a legitimate target. Masked suspects were detained on suspicion of explosives offenses and terrorism after barrels of material were found in the back of three vans.

However, an investigation found no viable explosives at the arrest scene, according to a UK official. The release of the men caused surprise and confusion following their earlier description as a serious attempted attack disrupted at the late stage. Authorities had evacuated the nearby village of Whelford, deploying bomb-disposal robots.

Rubio, during a Fox News network's Hannity programme, emphasized the seriousness of the situation without providing evidence or specifics, stating it involved a foreign actor. US President Donald Trump indicated at the White House that the incident might be related to Iran and that he wouldn't have released the suspects on bail.

Trump had previously praised the arrests near RAF Fairford, claiming they prevented "big damage" to the base, which has been a key launching pad for US air strikes on Iran. A farmer reported seeing a group of men wearing balaclavas near the base shortly after midnight on Sunday and calling the police, raising concerns about whether the alleged plot was on security services' radar.

UK Counter Terrorism Policing chief Laurence Taylor stated that the investigation would continue despite the men's release on bail, adding that they remained under investigation with stringent conditions on their movement and contact with others. Prime Minister Andy Burnham convened an emergency security meeting to discuss the case after breaking from his schedule at the Labour Party’s annual conference in Liverpool.

The Iranian Embassy in London categorically rejected and strongly condemned the speculation linking the case to Iran, dismissing it as "unfounded and malicious" attempts to fuel "Iranophobia propaganda in the UK."