United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said a âÂÂforeign actorâ was involved in a suspected bomb plot near an airbase in the United Kingdom used by the US military.
Police arrested five men, all British nationals from London, in their early to mid-20s, on Sunday after being alerted by a local farmer about three white vans driving towards RAF Fairford, a British base that houses US bombers flying missions against Iran.
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The counterterrorism police said on Monday they were investigating whether individuals were acting for a foreign state in an apparent plot to attack the airbase. They later said the suspects would be released on bail.
Commenting on the suspected plot and arrests on the Hannity programme on Fox News late on Monday, Rubio said,àâÂÂWhat happened, what almost happened, what could have happened in the UK over the weekend is a very serious situation.âÂÂ
âÂÂItâÂÂs one that clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor. I wonâÂÂt get into great detail about that yet,âÂÂàhe added.
IranâÂÂs Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had said in July the Fairford base was a legitimate target.
IranâÂÂs embassy in London said in a statement on Monday it âÂÂcategorically rejects and strongly condemns the recent unfounded and malicious speculationsâ that it was involved, which it said would fuel âÂÂIranophobia propagandaâ in the UK.
Trump said on Sunday the UK and the US had had the suspects âÂÂunder investigationâ for a while and alleged, âÂÂThey were looking to do big damage to our fort.âÂÂ
After hearing news that suspects were being released on bail, Trump said on Monday the case âÂÂmight beâ linked to Iran but declined to elaborate.
US bombers
The UK gave the US permission in March to use Fairford for âÂÂspecific defensive operations into Iranâ to destroy Iranian missiles at source.
US bombers and other planes have since been seen taking off and landing at the base â the only one on the Britishàmainland used for this purpose.
Residents in the rural Cotswolds area surrounding Fairford said the site, which hosts a range of US military equipment and personnel, had seen increased activity and security in recent months.
Authorities evacuated about 85 households from a nearby village early on Sunday, but they were allowed to return home the next day.
Tehran has previously warned London against allowing its bases to be used by the US in operations against Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused London of âÂÂputting British lives in dangerâ by allowing the bases to be used âÂÂfor aggression against IranâÂÂ.