The U.S. abruptly moved a dozen B-1 bomber aircraft from a U.K. military base on Sunday because of urgent concerns about a potentially complex drone attack ordered by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to U.S. and European officials briefed on the matter.
The planned attack was part of a multifaceted Iranian plot to target the aircraft and kill personnel at RAF Fairford, including American pilots, the officials said.
Vice President JD Vance said Monday that the aircraft were moved
The U.S. abruptly moved a dozen B-1 bomber aircraft from a U.K. military base on Sunday because of urgent concerns about a potentially complex drone attack ordered by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to U.S. and European officials briefed on the matter.
The planned attack was part of a multifaceted Iranian plot to target the aircraft and kill personnel at RAF Fairford, including American pilots, the officials said.
Vice President JD Vance said Monday that the aircraft were moved “out of an abundance of caution trying to protect our guys” and expressed concerns about the threat posed by Iran, though he didn’t comment on the specifics of the planned attack.
“We do feel with some confidence that the Iranians are trying to do what the Iranian state has done for 49 years, which is engage in acts of terrorism against the United States and against a lot of other people as well,” he told reporters at Joint Base Andrews before departing on a trip to Alaska. “We are being extremely cautious.”
President Trump on Monday said people linked to Iran posed a threat to assets at the base. “We had an idea that there might be a threat, so why would I leave them there?” he told reporters.
A spokesman for the U.K. government on Monday said that its military bases are safe and declined to comment on decisions made by the U.S. The Pentagon declined to comment on the planned attack but confirmed that all American bombers at the base had returned to the U.S.
Before the movement of the aircraft, U.S. officials were aware of an Iran-linked plot to attack the aircraft and personnel at the base, The Wall Street Journal has reported. A branch of the IRGC had recruited U.K. nationals to carry out the plot, which involved multiple steps including a diversion in the neighborhood nearby.
In addition to the drone threat, U.S. military officials in Europe were briefed in late September about a possible vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, the Journal has reported.
Trump said previously that the U.K. nationals arrested near the base last week intended to do “big damage” and that they had been under investigation. He said he disagreed with the U.K.’s decision to release them on bail.
U.K. officials caution that while Iran has publicly threatened British bases and clearly presents a threat, there is no evidence that Tehran could launch such an elaborate operation against Fairford. Iran has targeted other British bases abroad during the war, including Akrotiri in Cyprus and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
British police are still probing how and why five masked men were near Fairford air base last week after driving from London in vans containing barrels of fuel. The U.K. government said there are strong indications the plot is linked to Iran but hasn’t provided more detail. The men were arrested on suspicion of plotting a terrorist act but were then released on bail. They haven’t been charged with a crime.
A sixth man, a dual U.K.-Iranian citizen, was arrested days later on suspicion of plotting a terrorist act but was also released on bail.
Iran has a record of hiring criminal proxies to carry out attacks in Europe, typically focused on Jewish sites or dissidents of the regime.
Launching an explosive drone at a U.K. air base could be technically difficult given counterdrone technology, said Robert Tollast, a researcher at the Royal United Services Institute, a U.K. military think tank. However, the impact of even a botched attack on B-1 bombers would be humiliating for the U.S. “It’s a case of low probability but high impact if it is successful,” he said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who previously said the plot against the U.S. base involved the hand of a foreign actor, played down the threat on Monday, telling reporters that it isn’t unusual to see military aircraft rotate around the world. “We have confidence in the security of all our bases,” he added.
Write to Shelby Holliday at shelby.holliday@wsj.com, Benoit Faucon at benoit.faucon@wsj.com and Max Colchester at Max.Colchester@wsj.com
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