Rubio Says Foreign Actor Involved in Incident at Air Force Base in England

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sept. 28 that there was a foreign actor involved in the Sept. 27 incident at an airbase in England used by the U.S. Air Force (USAF), which resulted in the arrest of five British nationals.

“What happened, what almost happened, what could have happened in the UK over the weekend, is a very serious situation,” Rubio said on Fox News’s “Hannity.”

“It’s one that clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor. I won’t get into great detail about that yet.

“I do want to thank the authorities in the United Kingdom who have been very cooperative and on top of it.

“I know a lot of people are disturbed by the news that some of these people have been released on bail, as some of the people are being investigated, and obviously, we’re engaging with them on all of that.”

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) stated in July that RAF Fairford was one of a number of airbases in the UK that it considered a legitimate target.

Rubio said Iran had openly threatened to attack American interests globally, and he said that was being taken very seriously and that there would be serious repercussions if they ever were to attempt such an attack.

Trump Says Iran ‘Might Be’ Involved

U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Sept. 28 that the incident “might be” connected to Iran.

“I wouldn’t have done that,” he said when asked about the suspects being released on bail.

British Defense Secretary Wes Streeting said on Sept. 28 that it was “premature” to speculate on whether Iran was involved in the incident, but he did say the Iranians posed a threat.

“We know that Iran and their proxies wish to do us harm, we know that they hate our democracy, and we know that we regularly have to thwart Iranian attempts to threaten either our interests or, indeed, our allies,” Streeting said.

Five men were arrested in the early hours of Sept. 27, after police received a call from a local farmer about “three suspicious vehicles” that appeared to be traveling toward the air base, which has been used by USAF bombers during Operation Epic Fury.

Three white vans were seized, and five men, all British nationals from London aged between 23 and 25, were detained.

The head of the UK’s Counter Terrorism Policing, assistant commissioner Laurence Taylor, announced on Sept. 28 that the five men were being released on bail pending further police inquiries.

“To be very clear, this does not mean the investigation is over,” he said.

“They are subject to stringent conditions on their movement and contacts with others.

“They absolutely remain under investigation as we explore multiple lines of inquiry.”

Taylor said he was aware of speculation about whether the “current geopolitical context” has a bearing on the incident, and he said that the police were keeping an “open mind.”

“But be assured that we are examining this from every possible angle, including that this may be actively committed by proxy, or individuals either knowingly or unknowingly working on behalf of a foreign state,” he said.

“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,” the embassy stated.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham chaired a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency response committee on the evening of Sept. 28.

Police initially imposed a cordon around the air base on Sept. 27 and evacuated residents from 85 homes in the nearby village of Whelford, but the villagers were allowed to return home on the evening of Sept. 28 after the area was declared safe.

‘The Scene Is Now Safe’: Minister

“Thanks to the excellent work of the army’s explosive ordnance disposal team, the scene is now safe, and the residents of Whelford will shortly be returning home,” British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said.

Last week, British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told his Iranian counterpart, during a meeting of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City, that the UK would “not ‌tolerate intimidation, threats or hostile activity on UK soil.”

Police forces in Europe have noticed an uptick in recent years in the recruitment of young people to carry out “violence-as-a-service” on behalf of organized crime groups or even foreign regimes.

Reuters contributed to this report.