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Mullin says US 'knew' Iran would try to attack American assets in UK

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Cite

Barr, L. (2026, October 1). Mullin says US 'knew' Iran would try to attack American assets in UK. ABC News (US). https://abcnews.com/Politics/mullin-us-knew-iran-attack-american-assets-uk/story?id=136921569

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

ABC News (US) · collected 2026-10-01 · by Luke Barr

Quick Summary

Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin told Fox News on Thursday that the United States had prior knowledge Iran or its proxies would attempt to attack American assets in the UK, specifically around RAF Fairford which is used by U.S. forces involved in operations against Iran. Five British nationals were arrested early Sunday near the base and later released after extensive questioning, while a sixth person, a dual U.K./Iranian citizen, was recently detained for suspicion of terrorism. Mullin stated that the U.S. had been monitoring the situation with UK officials and provided them with advance warning about the potential threat.
Written by AI on 2026-10-01, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Iran is suspected of involvement in two recent incidents: a terror plot near RAF Fairford, a British airbase used by U.S. forces during operations against Iran, and a stabbing aboard a FlyDubai flight headed for Israel. In the former case, five men were arrested on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts; while in the latter, a co-pilot allegedly stabbed the captain and tried to crash the aircraft with over 180 people aboard. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said there are "strong indications" that Iran was involved at RAF Fairford, though Tehran denies any role. Security has been significantly increased at RAF Fairford in response to the threats. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed a “foreign actor” was involved and suggested it could be linked to Iran, warning potential repercussions if such threats continue. These incidents raise concerns about Iran shifting its war strategy towards more covert tactics as tensions with the U.S., Israel, and others persist.

Written for “Iran Threats RAF Fairford Incident” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 201 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Iran Threats RAF Fairford Incident
Politics · 202 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 10% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Semafor
Hedges 1 of 5 claims Outlet record 60/100
The Hindu
Hedges 2 of 28 claims Outlet record 60/100
Fox News
Hedges 2 of 29 claims Outlet record 69/100
Daily Mail
Hedges 3 of 27 claims Outlet record 68/100
“While both articles discuss arrests near RAF Fairford related to potential Iranian involvement, Article A focuses on Andy Burnham's claims and the initial arrests, while Article B reports Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin's comments about U.S. knowledge of a possible attack by Iran or its proxies.”
Evening Standard
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 3 of 29 claims Outlet record 65/100
Global News
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 1 of 20 claims Outlet record 63/100
South China Morning Post
Hedges 0 of 5 claims Outlet record 64/100
Evening Standard
Hedges 1 of 40 claims Outlet record 65/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
20
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
10%
2 of 20 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
70/100
ABC News (US)'s corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
202
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-01 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

ABC News (US) · 1268 article(s) · 3 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 3 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Luke Barr
30 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 A House Democrat is asking congressional appropriators for guardrails that would prevent President Donald Trump from exploiting a loophole in federal law to buy the East Potomac Golf Course that he's been pushing to renovate with taxpyer funds.
🔮 I'm frustrated that I got it in the middle of the night, but I'm much more concerned that it's filed on the public record." The assistant U.S. attorney in the hearing, John Borchert, struggled repeatedly as Faruqui asked him to explain the government's conduct, which the judge said was unlike any case he had ever seen in the history of D.C.'s district court. Faruqui ultimately granted the request from Flores' and Benavides' attorneys to strike the amended complaint from the docket and said he would continue Tuesday's hearing to determine whether prosecutors established probable cause in their initial complaint filed last week. "Why today on this one case have you changed the entire history of how you charge cases?" Faruqui asked of Borchert.
🔮 She could not immediately be reached for comment on Tuesday.
🔮 Unglesbee said he knew recipients of white powder letters 'took it serious and would have 'hazmat come in white suits' because 'anthrax is dangerous.'
🔮 The Justice Department is asking election officials in Washington state to set aside hundreds of ballots it says may belong to noncitizen voters, the latest move by the Trump administration to intervene in a state-run election just days before the midterms.
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🔮 The report lays out a series of warning behaviors and signs that are typical for those who might carry out targeted workplace violence, like a 22-year-old service member who "experienced multiple stressors, including chronic pain resulting from a motorcycle accident, the ailing health of a loved one, harassment from peers, and numerous reprimands and citations at work due to poor performance and tardiness," before carrying out an attack that killed two on base and injured a third person.
🔮 In a follow-up post resharing the letter, Trump wrote "They will all go to jail for a long period of time!!!"
🔮 We will continue to monitor developments closely as the facts become clear.
🔮 After initially saying they would post the sensitive information, the group told reporters they recanted the threat.
Also by Luke Barr
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 30 articles by Luke Barr →

Topics

Iran Royal Air Force The United States U.K. U.S.

Subjects

Iran GPE · 9× Mullin PERSON · 5× U.S. GPE · 5× U.K. GPE · 4× Andy Burnham PERSON · 2× British NORP · 2× Royal Air Force ORG · 2× The United States GPE · 2× American NORP · 1× U.K GPE · 1×

Narrative

There are strong indications that Iran played a part in what happened over the weekend at RAF Fairford, but of course it remains an ongoing complex and serious police investigation, and of course we are working closely with our colleagues in the United States of America," Burnham said.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-01
🔮 Mullin says US 'knew' Iran would try to attack American assets in UK U.K police said Thursday they arrested another man in connection with the case. The United States knew Iran or its proxies were going to "try and do an attack, possibly on a United States asset in the [United Kingdom]," Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin said Thursday of the arrest and release of five men near a Royal Air Force base used by the U.S. Mullin told Fox News the U.S. "had already been watching" the situation with British officials and the U.S. was "giving them a heads up." His comments come after U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Wednesday he believes Iran "played a part" in last weekend's incident at a Royal Air Force base in England that hosts U.S. warplanes involved in the conflict with Iran.
2026-10-01 · ABC News (US)
Mullin says US 'knew' Iran would try to attack American assets in UK · assertive framing

Claims (20 extracted, 2 hedged)

Mullin says US 'knew' Iran would try to attack American assets in UK U.K police said Thursday they arrested another man in connection with the case. The United States knew Iran or its proxies were going to "try and do an attack, possibly on a United States asset in the [United Kingdom]," Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin said Thursday of the arrest and release of five men near a Royal Air Force base used by the U.S. Mullin told Fox News the U.S. "had already been watching" the situation with British officials and the U.S. was "giving them a heads up." His comments come after U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Wednesday he believes Iran "played a part" in last weekend's incident at a Royal Air Force base in England that hosts U.S. warplanes involved in the conflict with Iran. uncertain
that → say → Iran
"They were also feeding information to us, so this was something we were paying attention to already, we just didn't know where it was coming from" Mullin said, adding that Iran is always a threat to the United States and its allies. " asserted
Iran → feed → States
This was a little bit more specific, so we were on heightened alert about the direct threat we had here but didn't know where it was coming from, so when we saw it we were able to act quick," Mullin said. asserted
Mullin → have → it
Five British nationals from London between the ages of 23 and 25 were arrested early Sunday in possession of three vans near RAF Fairford, police said, which has long been a key hub for U.S. Air Force operations in the Middle East -- including in the conflict with Iran. asserted
which → arrest → Iran
Police said the men were suspected of terrorism and explosives offenses, prompting speculation that the detainees were planning to target the RAF base, possibly on behalf of a foreign power. uncertain
detainees → say → power
Investigators said a search of the suspects' vehicles found no improvised explosive devices and authorities said they were released on bail on Monday after "extensive interviews." asserted
they → say → interviews
On Thursday, the U.K. Counter Terrorism Policing unit announced it had arrested another man -- a dual U.K./Iranian citizen -- in connection with the case on suspicion of "preparation of terrorist acts." asserted
it → announce → acts
It also said a second man had been questioned "under caution" and that it had searched two properties. asserted
it → say → properties
Mullin expressed frustration that the five men were released, but "It doesn't mean these individuals are just running loose. asserted
individuals → express → frustration
We -- as in our partners and us -- have eyes on these five individuals. asserted
We → have → individuals
We not going to let them slip through the cracks." asserted
them → go → cracks
Asked if he planned any response to the possible attack, President Donald Trump said Wednesday the U.S. is "studying it right now. asserted
U.S. → ask → it
We're studying it. asserted
We → study → it
We're studying it very hard." asserted
We → study → it
Asked about how the U.K. has responded, Trump said, "The U.K. did release a number of people that we caught wanting to blow up a base. asserted
we → ask → base
We caught them early and I'm trying to figure out if that's for real, if they actually did it." asserted
they → catch → it
U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Wednesday that his government believed Iran "played a part" in the possible plot. " asserted
Iran → say → plot
There are strong indications that Iran played a part in what happened over the weekend at RAF Fairford, but of course it remains an ongoing complex and serious police investigation, and of course we are working closely with our colleagues in the United States of America," Burnham said. asserted
Burnham → be → America
Reacting to those accusations, Iranian Foreign Minister Aragachi said, "I can confirm Iran's belief that releasing supposed terrorists working for foreign states really says it all. asserted
releasing → react → it
You're barking up the wrong tree." asserted
You → bark → tree
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