US removes bombers from UK base amid security concerns
The United States removed its B-1 bombers from a UK air base one week after several men were arrested there on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts, a Pentagon official said.
The United States has removed its B-1 bombers from a UK air base in response to security concerns, according to a Pentagon official. RAF Fairford, situated northwest of London, previously housed a dozen of these bombers which were utilized for US strikes on Iran. The planes were taken back to their home stations in the United States following their deployment at RAF Fairford, revealed a Pentagon spokesman in an email.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham expressed strong indications that Iran was implicated in a plot targeting the base. Iran denied these allegations, summoning the British ambassador to Tehran to address the matter. The Wall Street Journal initially reported the removal of the aircraft due to security concerns over suspected terror plots against the facility.
The British government had permitted the US to employ bombers stationed at Fairford to attack Iranian missile sites under threat from ships in the Strait of Hormuz. US President Donald Trump claimed the perpetrators of the plot had intended to cause significant damage, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attributed the actions to a foreign actor.
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