World·National security
Update: Reports say Iran’s Revolutionary Guard plotted a drone attack on U.S. bombers at Britain’s RAF Fairford
The threat of an Iranian drone attack led the U.S. to move 12 B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford back to the United States, after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps plotted to destroy U.S. aircraft and kill American service members at the base, the Wall Street Journal and New York Times reported Monday, according to the New York Post; U.S. officials described the potential attack as “complex, multipronged.” Vice President JD Vance said the bombers were moved “out of an abundance of caution” and said, “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,” the Post reported. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said there were “strong indications” Iran’s government played a part in the earlier plot against the airfield, which police said involved five British suspects planning a van bomb attack.
- New York PostConcerns over possible Iranian drone attack prompted US to remove bombers from UK base