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The threat of a possible Iranian drone attack triggered the US to remove a fleet of American B-1 bombers from a UK air base over the weekend, according to multiple reports.
The plot was cooked up by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and aimed to destroy US aircraft and kill American service members stationed at RAF Fairford, a military base about 90 miles west of London, the Wall Street Journal and New York Times reported on Monday.
The potential attack was described by US officials as “complex, multipronged.”
Some suspect it was inspired by drone strikes Ukraine launched from inside Russian territory last year targeting air bases and Moscow’s nuclear-capable bombers.
The June 2025 strikes, dubbed Operation Spider Web, saw Ukraine launch explosives-laden drones hidden in sheds that were being hauled by semi-trucks. Five bases in five different regions of Russia were hit as part of the operation.
The redeployment of the 12 B-1 Air Force bombers back to the US came days after an alleged terror plot targeting RAF Fairford was foiled by British authorities.
Five suspects, identified as British nationals, appeared to have been plotting a van bomb attack against the airfield, police said.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said that there were “strong indications” that the Iranian government played a part in the initial plot — which was believed to have picked the Fairford base for the American bombers stored there.
On Monday, Vice President JD Vance told reporters that the bombers were pulled from the base “out of an abundance of caution.”
“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 and against a lot of other people as well,” Vance added. “We are being extremely cautious.”
President Trump similarly suggested the US had intelligence that the base was being targeted by Iran.
“We had an idea that there might be a threat, so why would I leave them there?” he told reporters.
