The Pentagon has confirmed that the US has withdrawn all of its bombers from a UK air base following a security incident near the base last month, though US officials are insisting the withdrawal is routine.
A Pentagon spokesperson told CBS News that all US bombers have been withdrawn from RAF Fairford, from which the US has launched bombing missions against Iran, and returned to their home bases in the US.
“US Air Force bombers routinely operate around the world to support global force readiness and operational requirements,” the spokesperson said. “The Airmen that operate America’s bomber force, including B-1s, B-2s, and B-52s, remain ready to deliver precision global strike capabilities — including through operations that launch and recover from the continental United States — anywhere, anytime.”
In comments on the withdrawal, Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied that it was related to the arrest of five British men near the base last month. A sixth man, a dual UK-Iranian citizen, was arrested last week, though they have all been released on bail.
“The Department of War is constantly reallocating resources where they need to be. There’s regular rotations that happen as well,” Rubio told reporters on Monday. “We’ve documented what happened last week. I wouldn’t directly tie that to the move that was made.”
While the men were arrested on suspicion of “terrorism” over a suspected bomb plot, no explosives were found in vans that were linked to them. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said the British government has found “strong indications” that Iran was involved in the alleged plot, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that he passed along intelligence of a potential Iranian attack inside the country, though Tehran has denied any involvement.
“PM Burnham says the UK Government ‘can confirm our belief that we believe Iran to have played a part’ in the RAF Fairford incident,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X in response to Burnham’s comments.
“I can confirm Iran’s belief that releasing supposed terrorists working for foreign states really says it all. You’re barking up the wrong tree,” Araghchi added.
