This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Iran summoned the British Ambassador to Tehran Hugo Shorter on Thursday to protest accusations linking the country to an alleged sabotage plot targeting RAF Fairford, a British military base used by US forces, state broadcaster IRIB reported, Anadolu reports.
Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Majid Takht-Ravanchi conveyed Tehran’s “strong protest” at the “destructive approach” by the British government following remarks by Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
Takht-Ravanchi rejected the “false and ridiculous claims” by British officials linking Iran to the alleged plot targeting the military base.
He demanded the British government officially clarify the matter and “correct its inappropriate approach” toward Iran, according to IRIB.
Burnham said Wednesday there was a “strong indication” that Iran had played a role in the suspected plot near RAF Fairford, while stressing that the case remained a “complex and very serious police investigation.”
Iran rejected suggestions Monday that it was linked to the arrests at the airbase.
‘Strong indication’ of Iran’s involvement in suspected plot near RAF base: UK PM
“The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in London categorically rejects and strongly condemns the recent unfounded and malicious speculations published by some British individuals and media outlets attempting to link Iran to the arrest of five suspects in the vicinity of RAF Fairford base,” it said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that the suspected plot involved “the hands of a foreign actor,” without identifying the country he believed was responsible.
The Royal Air Force installation, which hosts US Air Force operations, has supported missions against Iran since February amid the wider Middle East war.
The arrests follow heightened protection measures around the facility after Britain affirmed in July that its armed forces stood ready to defend against potential retaliation following warnings from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps concerning American bombers operating from Fairford.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
- Türkiye’s message to the Middle East: Security requires peace
- Withdrawal and non-withdrawal: The naivete of comparing Iraq to Afghanistan
- Over 200 organisations across more than 60 countries unite in Global Mobilisation for Palestine on 10 October
- Saudi-led coalition blames Houthis for drone attack on Medina power station
- Dual UK-Iranian national arrested over UK airbase incident, police say
- Lebanese army foils attempt to smuggle 540 pounds of TNT from Syria
- Israel continues attacks on southern Lebanon with airstrikes, home explosions, artillery fire
- Iran summons British ambassador for claims linking Tehran to RAF Fairford plot
- Japan calls for ‘momentum for diplomacy’ to end US-Iran war
- Gaza genocide continues a year after ‘ceasefire’, Medical Aid for Palestinians warns
- Humiliation for Israel loyalists as Macklemore’s ‘Free Palestine’ tour sells out despite attempts to silence him
- Trivialising memory with gratuitous gratitude
- Yemeni army says 30 Houthis killed, 50 wounded in clashes south of Taiz
- 5 killed, 47 injured in RSF drone attack on university dormitory in Sudan: Doctors group
- A shield, not a sword: what the Makkah pact’s first test reveals
- Israeli minister who champions Tommy Robinson brands Shabana Mahmood an ‘Islamist’
- Detained Gaza hospital director Abu Safiya nominated for European Parliament human rights prize
- Trump declines to endorse Netanyahu ahead of Israeli elections
- UK government urged to end ban on Palestine Action group
- Why Indonesians should boycott the Israel & New Breed concert in Jakarta
- Israeli army attacks NAZA film, distances itself from Gaza crimes
- Israel’s Supreme Court hears appeals by Arab candidates barred from Knesset elections
- UN official warns inaction on Hormuz fertilizer flows could push millions into food insecurity
- Iraqi prime minister sets June 30 deadline to disarm groups outside state control
- Hundreds of occupiers storm ‘Joseph’s Tomb’ under Israeli military protection
- Americans are paying the price to preserve Israel’s nuclear hegemony
- UK’s ‘double lock’ on arms exports to Israel has led to no new licence suspensions, CAAT says
- Denial as a way of life: Netanyahu on Egyptian warnings about 7th October
- Pro-Iran Iraqi factions say they are ‘not bound by any timeline or agreement’ on weapons
- Settlers attack farmers, prevent olive harvesting in Salfit
- US lifts policy of denying military export licenses for Syria
- Mohammed bin Salman: Establishing an independent Palestinian state remains a steadfast Saudi goal
- Egyptian minister rejects Israeli concerns over Sinai railway project
- How Israel destabilizes the Middle East: Denying sovereignty and the right to exist
- Source: Hamas leadership delegation arrives in Cairo for electoral alliance talks
- Hassan Salameh’s fiancée fears he may have been assaulted after Ben-Gvir’s death threat
- Bodies of recovered victims laid to rest in Gaza
- Podcast by Jasim Al-Azzawi with Larry Johnson: Why Do American Liberation Projects End in Disaster?
- Israeli circus in the UN General Assembly
- Sudan extends Adre border crossing with Chad for humanitarian aid for 3 months
- Benkirane declines meeting with newly designated PM Mansouri
- UNICEF: 1,317 children killed or injured in Lebanon
- Tehran receives US response to Hormuz reopening proposal, but differences remain over implementation
- US provides Tunisia with $1m in security equipment to support counter-terrorism efforts
- How Gaza’s genocide is reshaping US domestic politics
- While Gaza dominates the UN, these are the people keeping it alive
- US has ‘virtually total control’ of Strait of Hormuz: Trump
- Direct talks with Israel only way to regain Lebanese territory: Foreign minister
- 263 Palestinian journalists killed since start of Israel’s war on Gaza: Media office
- Switzerland says violence level ‘cannot be tolerated’ as it condemns recent West Bank occupier attack
dizzy: Shouldn’t the RAF Fairford ridiculous nonsense be dismissed as totally implausible? Essentially three vans were driving past RAF Fairford. Burnham & Co are promoting that as terrorism …