US removes B-1 bombers from UK base amid security concerns

A Pentagon official stated on Sunday that the United States pulled its B-1 bombers from a UK air station one week after multiple men were detained there on suspicion of planning terrorist attacks.

Northwest of London, at RAF Fairford air base, were twelve B-1 bombers. The United States had employed the aircraft to attack Iran.A Pentagon official responded in an email, “We can now acknowledge that all US bombers that were deployed to RAF Fairford have re-deployed to their home stations in the United States, even though operational security prevented us from confirming the movement of our assets and forces in real-time.”

Prime Minister Andy Burnham stated on Wednesday that Britain has “strong indications” that Iran was involved in a suspected plot to target the site. Iran called the British ambassador in Tehran to discuss the matter, claiming that charges connecting Tehran to the purported plot were unfounded.

The planes were taken out of the site due to security concerns about possible terror plans against the facility, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The US was able to hit Iranian missile installations that were assaulting ships in the Strait of Hormuz by using bombers based at Fairford, thanks to permission from the British government.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also mentioned the “hands of a foreign actor,” while US President Donald Trump claimed that those involved in the scheme had planned “big damage.”