Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said the authorities have “convincing grounds” to believe Iran was involved in an incident at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. The base is used by US forces for operations linked to Iran.
Burnham made the remarks on Wednesday, 30 September, in interviews with the BBC and other British outlets on the sidelines of the Labour Party conference in Liverpool. “There are strong indications that Iran played a part in what happened over the weekend at RAF Fairford,” he said. The prime minister stressed that the investigation remains complex and unfinished, and declined to say what the assessment is based on. London, he said, is working closely with the United States; earlier in the week he chaired an emergency COBRA meeting.
The incident took place in the early hours of Sunday, 27 September. Gloucestershire Police received a report of three suspicious vehicles heading toward the base near the village of Whelford. Five men — British nationals aged 23 to 25, from London (Westminster, Camden and Willesden) — were arrested on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act and of explosives offences. All five were released on bail on Monday under strict conditions. Police said no explosives were found in the vans, only a quantity of petrol. Counter-terrorism police are examining several lines of inquiry, including the possibility that proxies — knowingly or unknowingly — were acting on behalf of a foreign state.
Tehran rejected the allegation. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote that Burnham was “barking up the wrong tree” and tied the claim to the decision to release the suspects. Iran’s embassy in London had earlier called suggestions of involvement “unfounded and malicious”.
On the US side, Secretary of State Marco Rubio had earlier said the incident “clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor”, referring specifically to Iran. President Donald Trump called the arrests a successful joint operation and criticised the decision to release the suspects on bail.
RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force base in the Cotswolds long used by the US Air Force. In spring 2026, then-prime minister Keir Starmer authorised “defensive” US strikes on Iranian missile sites from the base.
