UK: IRGC 'Almost Certainly' Behind RAF Fairford Plot — SkimNews
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- Burnham told Parliament that British authorities assess a suspected plot targeting RAF Fairford was "highly likely" coordinated from Iran and "almost certainly directed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard" — the most direct public attribution of responsibility to the IRGC yet.
- Five British men were arrested near RAF Fairford on September 27 on suspicion of terrorism and explosives offences after suspicious activity was reported; police found petrol in associated vans but no viable explosives, and all five were released on police bail alongside two other suspects, including a British-Iranian national.
- RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire became a security focus after US bombers operating from the base carried out strikes on Iran; US officials told Reuters investigators were examining a possible drone attack plot, and Trump cited an Iran-linked threat as the reason for withdrawing bombers from the facility.
- Tehran rejected the accusations, with Iranian Ambassador to Britain Seyed Ali Mousavi demanding London present evidence; UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told Parliament a known individual based in Iran was believed to be behind the incident.
- Britain imposed sanctions on two Iranian nationals — Ruhollah Bazghandi, identified as the IRGC's head of counterespionage operations, and Shahram Ali Reza Tamarzadeh Jakki, described as a facilitator for the Zindashti criminal network — while Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband summoned the Iranian ambassador.
- Foreign ministries from 29 countries — including the US, France, Germany, Canada, and Australia — issued a joint statement condemning Iran's "violent attacks, arson, sabotage and cyberattacks" and the IRGC's "willingness to project hostile activity beyond its borders through covert networks and proxy actors."
Why it matters: Britain has publicly attributed a hostile act on its own soil to the IRGC following the Iran-US-Israel conflict, imposed new sanctions on named Iranian intelligence and criminal-network figures, and secured a 29-country joint statement — coordinated Western pressure that deepens Iran's diplomatic isolation and raises the operational security bar for military installations supporting strikes against Tehran.
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