UK blames IRGC for airbase plot

Iran rejects any connection with Fairford incident

LONDON:

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Monday that a suspected plot targeting the RAF Fairford air base in Britain was "highly likely" to have been coordinated in Iran, and almost certainly directed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The RAF Fairford base in southwest England, which had been used by US bombers to carry out strikes on Iran, became the focal point for a major security response after five British men were arrested nearby in the early hours of September 27 on suspected terrorism and explosive offences.

US officials have told Reuters that there had been a suspected plot involving Iran to launch a drone attack, and last week US President Donald Trump said a threat linked to Iran had prompted a decision to withdraw the bombers from the base.

"I can confirm our assessment that it is highly likely to have been coordinated in Iran, almost certainly directed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard," Burnham told parliament.

Iran has rejected any connection with the Fairford incident.

"Tehran has had no involvement in this matter, and if the British government possesses any documents or evidence to support its claims, it should present them," said Iran's Ambassador to Britain, Seyed Ali Mousavi, according to Iran's state news agency IRNA.

Details around the suspected plot remain thin. The five detained men were later released without charge on police bail "under stringent conditions", and two other arrested men, including a British-Iranian national, have also been released.

Detectives have said petrol but no viable explosive had been found in vans seized along with the five men. However, both police and Burnham have pointed towards the involvement of a foreign state.