The United States has made the abrupt decision to withdraw its bombers from the Royal Air Force (RAF) base Fairford in the western part of the United Kingdom, citing concerns about a potential attack.
Media reports emerged on Sunday that an urgent redeployment was under way, with B-1 bombers leaving RAF Fairford for the US.
Recommended Stories
list of 3 items- list 1 of 3New aircraft carrier, 10,000 US troops: Is the Iran war about to escalate?
- list 2 of 3Iran says Hormuz to remain closed until US meets conditions
- list 3 of 3War on Iran: Is escalation more likely than a deal?
asserted
escalation → make → deal
Roughly a dozen such aircraft had been based at RAF Fairford prior to the sudden departure.
asserted
aircraft → base → departure
“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 re-deployed to their home stations in the United States,” a Pentagon spokesperson told the Reuters news agency.
asserted
spokesperson → preclude → agency
It is unclear precisely what prompted the withdrawal, which comes as the US and Israel remain embroiled in a war against Iran.
uncertain
US → prompt → Iran
RAF Fairford has served as a stopping point for US bombers participating in the war, which began more than seven months ago, on February 28.
asserted
which → serve → February
But the base, located roughly 160km (100 miles) west of London, has been rumoured to be the target of a “terror” plot involving Iran.
asserted
base → locate → Iran
On September 27, UK authorities arrested five men on suspicion of plotting to plant explosives near the base.
asserted
authorities → arrest → base
Iran has denied any such scheme, and the men were released without charge a day later.
asserted
men → deny → charge
Investigators discovered petrol, but no explosive devices, in their vans.
asserted
Investigators → discover → vans
Still, officials in the UK say they remain under investigation.
asserted
they → say → investigation
On Thursday, British police also announced they had arrested a 25-year-old UK-Iranian dual national in London on suspicion of plotting an attack against the airbase.
asserted
they → announce → airbase
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham suggested last week that “Iran played a part” in the alleged plot, though he declined to provide details.
“The investigation into circumstances surrounding events in Gloucestershire is hugely complex, and our specialist teams are interrogating multiple lines of enquiry,” Senior National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing, Vicki Evans, said in a statement.
uncertain
Coordinator → suggest → statement
“As we’ve made clear, we’re looking at all possible angles — including possible foreign state involvement.”
asserted
we → make → involvement
US President Donald Trump responded to the initial arrests by accusing the men of seeking to do “big damage” to US facilities.
asserted
Trump → respond → facilities
He also praised UK authorities for their efforts.
asserted
He → praise → efforts
Working with Britain — it was an amazing job.
asserted
it → work → Britain
We had them under investigation,” Trump said of the suspects.
asserted
Trump → have → suspects
“We had them under view for a long time, and we got them.”
asserted
we → have → them
Iran, meanwhile, summoned the UK ambassador to Tehran over the last week in protest of the arrests.
asserted
Iran → summon → arrests
The US has a long history of stationing forces at RAF Fairford during its wars in the Middle East, stretching back to the Gulf War in the 1990s.
asserted
US → have → 1990s
During one instance, in 2003, five protesters broke into the airbase in an attempt to destroy military equipment slated to be used in the US invasion of Iraq.
asserted
protesters → break → Iraq
The UK has largely declined to participate in the ongoing war on Iran, despite pressure from the Trump administration.
asserted
UK → decline → administration
Still, while the UK government was initially hesitant to let the US use its bases for the war, it granted the US “defensive” access to bases including Fairford and RAF Diego Garcia in March.
asserted
it → let → March
The Aporia
