The British Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, announced on Wednesday that "strong evidence" exists indicating Iran was involved in suspicious activities at a British airbase over the past weekend. These remarks followed a bomb threat at RAF Fairford in southwestern England, which is specifically used by U.S. military forces in anti-Iran operations.
Police Investigations Ongoing
Burnham stated in an interview with a news network: "Of course, this matter remains a complex and serious police investigation." His remarks mark the first official confirmation from British officials suggesting that Iran may have played a role in this incident. On Sunday, three white vans were seen heading towards RAF Fairford in the early hours, raising security concerns.
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Iran's Reaction and Existing Ambiguities
The Iranian embassy in London has strongly rejected and condemned these allegations. Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, also wrote in a post on social media platform X that Burnham is "on the wrong path." British police announced on Tuesday that no explosives were found at the scene, and the existing threat has not been clearly explained by officials.
After three days of investigation, including the use of bomb disposal teams, police stated that only "a small amount of gasoline" was found in the vehicles. A report from The Times also mentioned that one of the suspects had informed the police before the group's arrest.
U.S. President Donald Trump and his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, had previously stated that intelligence agencies were aware of the existence of suspects and that a foreign country may have been involved in this incident. However, British officials had not responded to this matter until now.
Burnham continued, saying: "We were waiting to confirm what we could say, but now we can affirm our belief that Iran was involved in this incident." There were rumors about the possibility of Iran or another hostile country being involved, especially after Tehran had previously warned London to refrain from using its military bases for Washington's operations.
Britain has allowed the United States to use RAF Fairford for defensive strikes against Iran, which has angered Tehran and raised concerns among some residents of Gloucestershire.
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