U.S. Pulls All Bombers From RAF Fairford; Trump Says 'Some Threats' Prompted Move

The U.S. military has moved every bomber it had deployed to RAF Fairford in England back to home bases in the United States, the Pentagon said Sunday, Oct. 4, a week after British police arrested five men near the base in a suspected terror plot.

"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 said in a statement. The statement gave no reason for the move. It said U.S. bomber crews "remain ready to deliver precision global strike capabilities," including on missions flown from the continental United States, "anywhere, anytime."

About a dozen B-1 bombers had been at the Gloucestershire base, U.S. officials said.

President Donald Trump said Monday, Oct. 5, that threats prompted the departure. "They didn't fly out by accident," he told reporters at the White House. "There were some threats." Vice President JD Vance said the planes were moved "out of an abundance of caution" and said officials believe "with some confidence" that Iran is trying to carry out terrorism against the United States. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the same day that he "wouldn't directly tie" the move to the plot and said it is not unusual for planes to rotate in and out.

The British prime minister's office declined to comment on U.S. military operations but said Monday that the base is safe.

British counterterrorism police arrested the five men, all in their 20s, near Fairford in the early hours of Sept. 27 on suspicion of explosives and terrorism offenses. They were released on police bail the next day. Police later said they found petrol in three vehicles but no explosive devices.

On Oct. 1, Counter Terrorism Policing arrested a sixth man, a 25-year-old dual U.K. and Iranian national, in Westminster in London on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts. He was released on bail Oct. 3. Vicki Evans, senior national coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing, said investigators are "looking at all possible angles," including possible foreign state involvement.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Sept. 30 that there were "strong indications" Iran played a part. Rubio said Sept. 28 that the plot involved "the hands of a foreign actor," without naming a country.

Iran denies involvement. Its Foreign Ministry summoned British Ambassador Hugo Shorter in Tehran on Oct. 1, and Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi rejected the accusations as false.