Tehran has summoned Britain’s ambassador and demanded evidence after London said a suspected plot against RAF Fairford, a base used by US bombers, was most likely directed by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. Iran calls the accusation a “false flag” operation.
The diplomatic standoff between Iran and the United Kingdom over a suspected plot targeting an English airbase has deepened, with each government summoning the other’s ambassador and trading sharply worded statements over who bears responsibility for the incident.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it summoned British Ambassador Hugo Shorter to protest what it described as unfounded accusations linking Tehran to the case at RAF Fairford, according to Reuters and Gulf News. The base in southern England has hosted US bombers used in strikes on Iran during the current war.
Tehran demands proof
According to the ministry’s account of the meeting, carried by Reuters, its director-general for Western Europe told the ambassador that the British government “must, as soon as possible, provide the documents and evidence supporting its accusations”. Otherwise, the ministry said, Iran “will seriously reconsider its bilateral relations” with London.
In a separate statement reported by Al Jazeera and Gulf News, the ministry dismissed the British attribution as a “clumsy false flag operation”. Al Jazeera reported that the ministry also described the accusation as “an ugly plot” intended to help Britain avoid accountability for its role in the war, and said London had not produced sufficient evidence.
London points to the Revolutionary Guards
The Iranian move followed a statement to Parliament on Monday, 12 October, by British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who said the suspected plot was “highly likely” to have been coordinated in Iran, according to Reuters and Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera quoted him as saying it was “almost certainly directed” by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The British government also imposed sanctions on two Iranian nationals over what it called hostile activity linked to the base, and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband summoned Iran’s ambassador in London, Al Jazeera reported. London has not publicly set out the evidence behind its assessment.
What is known about the incident
The case dates back to the early hours of 27 September, when police arrested five British men in their 20s near RAF Fairford on suspicion of terrorism and explosives offences, according to Reuters and Al Jazeera. The five were later released on police bail without charge. Further arrests have been made since then as counter-terrorism officers continue to investigate, while many details of the alleged threat remain unclear.
Al Jazeera noted that the United States withdrew around a dozen B-1 bombers from the base after the incident.
A test for strained relations
Relations between London and Tehran were already tense before the Fairford case. Britain designated the IRGC as a terrorist organisation in July, Al Jazeera reported, and Iran accuses Western governments of using security allegations to justify military pressure on the Islamic Republic.
For now, neither side has signalled a retreat. Britain says it will act against Iran-linked networks operating on its soil, while Tehran has tied the future of bilateral ties to whether London produces the evidence it says it holds.
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