US withdraws B-1 bomber aircraft from UK’s Fairford base amid Iran fears

SaveSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkUnited States Air Force personnel work on a B1 bomber at RAF Fairford on September 28 [File: Alastair Grant/AP Photo]By Al Jazeera Staff, Reuters and The Associated PressPublished On 4 Oct 20264 Oct 2026The United States has made the abrupt decision to withdraw its bombers from the Royal Air Force (RAF) base Fairford in the western part of the United Kingdom, citing concerns about a potential attack.On Sunday, media reports emerged that an urgent redeployment was underway, with B-1 bombers leaving RAF Fairford for the US.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3New aircraft carrier, 10,000 US troops: Is the Iran war about to escalate?list 2 of 3Iran says Hormuz to remain closed until US meets conditionslist 3 of 3War on Iran: Is escalation more likely than a deal?end of listRoughly a dozen such aircraft had been based at RAF Fairford prior to the sudden departure.“While operational security precluded us from confirming the movement of our assets and forces in real-time, we can acknowledge now that all US bombers that were deployed to RAF Fairford have re-deployed to their home stations in the United States,” a Pentagon spokesperson told the Reuters news agency.It is unclear precisely what prompted the withdrawal, which comes as the US and Israel remain embroiled in a war against Iran.RAF Fairford has served as a stopping point for US bombers participating in the war, which began more than seven months ago, on February 28.But the base, located roughly 160 km (100 miles) west of London, has been rumoured to be the target of a “terror” plot involving Iran.On September 27, UK authorities arrested five men on suspicion of plotting to plant explosives near the base.Iran has denied any such scheme, and the men were released without charge a day later. Investigators discovered petrol, but no explosive devices, in their vans. Still, officials in the UK say they remain under investigation.On Thursday, British police also announced they had arrested a 25-year-old UK-Iranian dual national in London on suspicion of plotting an attack against the air base.UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham suggested last week that “Iran played a part” in the alleged plot, though he declined to provide details.“The investigation into circumstances surrounding events in Gloucestershire is hugely complex, and our specialist teams are interrogating multiple lines of enquiry,” Britain’s Senior National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing, Vicki Evans, said in a statement.“As we’ve made clear, we’re looking at all possible angles — including possible foreign state involvement.”US President Donald Trump responded to the initial arrests by accusing the men of seeking to do “big damage” to US facilities. He also praised UK authorities for their efforts.“The arrest in the UK was fantastic. Working with Britain — it was an amazing job. We had them under investigation,” Trump said of the suspects. “We had them under view for a long time, and we got them.”Iran, meanwhile, summoned the British ambassador to Tehran over the last week in protest of the arrests.The US has a long history of stationing forces at RAF Fairford during its wars in the Middle East, stretching back to the Gulf War in the 1990s.In the past, RAF Fairford has been the site of anti-war protests. During one instance, in 2003, five British protesters broke into the airbase in an attempt to destroy military equipment slated to be used in the US invasion of Iraq.The UK has largely declined to participate in the ongoing war against Iran, despite pressure from the Trump administration.Still, while the UK government was initially hesitant to let the US use its bases for the Iran war, it granted the US “defensive” access to bases including Fairford and RAF Diego Garcia in March.