Britain's prime minister, Andy Burnham, told parliament on Monday that the suspected plot against RAF Fairford was highly likely to have been coordinated in Iran and almost certainly directed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Reuters and The Times reported. The statement is the British government's first public attribution of the September 27 incident at the Gloucestershire airbase, which US bombers had used to carry out strikes on Iran. Iran has rejected any connection with the incident.
What did the UK government say on Monday?
Burnham told MPs the assessment was that the incident was highly likely coordinated in Iran and almost certainly directed by the IRGC, and he pledged action against Iran's use of criminal networks in Britain, including further sanctions aimed at the IRGC. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told parliament that an unnamed individual based in Iran was believed to be behind what happened, according to Reuters, and she did not rule out expelling Iranian diplomats as the investigation develops, The Times reported.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said he had summoned Iran's ambassador, and Britain sanctioned two Iranian nationals it described as an IRGC counterespionage chief and a facilitator for a criminal network previously accused of plots against Iranian dissidents, Reuters reported. Foreign ministries from almost 30 countries, including the US, France, Germany and Canada, issued a joint statement on Monday condemning Iran's use of violent plotting, arson, sabotage and cyber-attacks against partners, and recognising the UK's attribution, according to both Reuters and The Times.
What is known about the alleged plot itself?
Details remain thin, and the attribution is a government assessment, not a court finding. Five British men were arrested near the base in the early hours of September 27 on suspicion of terrorism and explosives offences after three suspicious vans were reported nearby; two further men, including a British-Iranian national, were arrested later, making seven in total. All have since been released without charge on police bail under stringent conditions, Reuters reported. Detectives have said petrol, but no viable explosive, was found in the vans.
US officials have told Reuters there was a suspected Iran-linked plan to launch a drone attack on the base, and The Wall Street Journal reported — via The Times — that the alleged plan involved recruiting British citizens, staging a diversion and swarming the airfield with drones; those operational details are press reporting, not findings published by police. US President Donald Trump said last week that a threat linked to Iran prompted the withdrawal of the US bomber fleet from Fairford, and The Times reported the bombers were pulled back to their home bases in the US after the incident.
How has Iran responded?
Iran's ambassador to Britain, Seyed Ali Mousavi, rejected the claim, saying Tehran had no involvement and challenging the British government to present any documents or evidence supporting its claims, according to Iran's state news agency IRNA as reported by Reuters. Iran's embassy in London had earlier condemned speculation linking it to the incident. The two positions — a formal UK attribution to the IRGC and a categorical Iranian denial — are both stated here as the parties' positions; no evidence supporting either has been published in the reporting opened for this article.
The attribution in this article is the British government's assessment as reported by Reuters and The Times on October 12, 2026; Iran denies any involvement, and the police investigation is continuing with all suspects released on bail.
