Israeli Politics03 October, 20262 min read
Netanyahu Says Israel Warned UK of Iran-Backed Plot Against RAF Fairford, Stopped Attack
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Netanyahu says Israeli intelligence warned the UK about an Iran-backed attack on RAF Fairford. British police opened a probe into Tehran involvement in Fairford plot; arrested a dual UK-Iranian.
5 outlets told this the same way.
Warning, then sanctions row
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli intelligence officials provided Britain with a warning about an attack allegedly planned with Iranian backing against RAF Fairford last week, and he said the incident was stopped and prevented. Netanyahu told interviewer Natalie Lisbona, who met him at his office in Jerusalem, that without the warning “it would probably have gone through and we don't know how many British lives would have been lost.”
Netanyahu attacked the Labour government in London over decisions to ban trade in products from settlements in the West Bank and impose a partial arms embargo, while he said Israel assists Britain on security matters. Ed Miliband announced economic sanctions on settlements in the West Bank in early September after saying he intended to “reset” London’s policy toward Israel, and Netanyahu said Britain was behaving like a “rogue state.”
Intelligence dispute and investigation
A senior Israeli official told The Telegraph that “We warned our British counterparts of an imminent Iranian attack on RAF Fairford,” and the official said “That is what allies do.” Andy Burnham said authorities had seen “strong indications” that Tehran played a part in what happened over the weekend at RAF Fairford, while stressing that the case remained an ongoing police investigation.
British counter-terror policing head Laurence Taylor said the force was “pretty confident” Iran was involved in the plot and that “without question” the country posed a threat to the UK. Police said no explosives were discovered, but petrol was recovered, and the investigation continued as Wes Streeting stressed the importance of Britain’s security relationship with the United States, whose forces use RAF Fairford.
Retaliation and wider fallout
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rejected Burnham’s assertion and wrote on X, “I can confirm Iran's belief that releasing supposed terrorists working for foreign states really says it all.”
Iran summoned Britain’s ambassador in Tehran to protest the accusations, with the Foreign Ministry describing them as baseless, while Netanyahu said it was too early to determine whether a separate case involved connections to Iran.
US President Donald Trump said investigators were examining whether Tehran had a role in the Flydubai incident and that, based on what he was hearing, “I would say the answer based on what I'm hearing, is yes.”
Trump warned Iran of retaliation if investigators established its involvement, telling reporters “Oh they’ll be hit, very hard, don’t worry,” and he added “You just ask them. They know what happened.”