Iona Cleave
The US has withdrawn all of its bomber jets from RAF Fairford after the base in south-west England was the target of a suspected terror plot last month.
The Pentagon said all B-1 bombers deployed to the base, which American forces have used to strike Iran, had returned to the US.
Counter-terror police are investigating whether Iran was behind the suspected terror plot. Five British nationals and a UK-Iranian national have been arrested on suspicion of terrorism and explosive offences over the incident. All those arrested have since been bailed.
The quick withdrawal of US aircraft from the base followed new threats the US military received regarding an Iran-backed plot to target the facility, two American officials told The New York Times.
The need to move the bombers was so urgent that some of the planes were ordered into the air while refuelling aircraft were still being scrambled.
A Pentagon official told The Telegraph: “While operational security precluded us from confirming the movement of our assets and forces in real time, we can acknowledge now that all US bombers that were deployed to RAF Fairford have redeployed to their home stations in the United States.”
The official added that the bombers remained ready “to deliver precision global strike capabilities” from the continental United States.
US officials told The Wall Street Journal the decision was made in response to security concerns over suspected terror plots against the facility.
Last week, police said they found a quantity of petrol in three vans linked to the five suspects, but no explosives.
The UK Ministry of Defence has been approached for comment.
On Wednesday, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said there were “strong indications that Iran played a part” in the suspected plot.
RAF Fairford, located on the border of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, regularly hosts deployments of long-range US aircraft, including B-1s, B-52 bombers and U-2 reconnaissance aircraft. It also houses hundreds of American military staff.
On September 27, police received a call about three suspicious vehicles that appeared to be travelling towards RAF Fairford early in the morning.
Five British nationals, all in their mid-20s, were arrested later that day on suspicion of terrorism and explosives offences, and it emerged that counter-terror police had begun investigating a possible link to Iran.
All five men arrested on September 27 were bailed the next day, a decision criticised by US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Trump told a press conference that he would not have bailed the men, and Rubio later said the “hands of a foreign actor” were involved.
Police have also revealed that no explosives were found in the suspicious vans, although a quantity of petrol was recovered.
A 25-year-old British-Iranian man was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of the preparation of terrorist acts in connection with the suspected plot, and has since been bailed.
Since March 1, US heavy bombers have taken off from the base “for defensive missions to destroy Iran’s missile capabilities”, according to the US military.
In July, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that any British base used to strike Tehran was a “legitimate target”.
The Telegraph revealed last week that Israeli intelligence had warned MI5 about an imminent Iranian-backed attack on the air base shortly before UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced plans to ban imports of goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Iran has said accusations of its involvement in the suspected plot were baseless and on Thursday, Tehran summoned the British ambassador in protest over the allegations.
The Telegraph, London
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