US 'evacuates aircraft from second RAF base after Iran threat'

US military aircraft have been evacuated from a second RAF airbase following a threat from Iran . Two US air force Stratotankers and three V-22 Ospreys were reportedly withdrawn from RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk on Monday. The aircraft were redirected to Spain and Germany from the British airbase which was home to the 100th Air Refueling Wing known as the Bloody Hundredth. The exact nature of the threat is not yet known and the issue is currently being assessed by US officials, the Wall Street Journal reported.

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: 'We do not routinely comment on the activity of other nations. 'Aircraft and other assets move regularly according to operational requirements.' Flight trackers showed that at least nine aircraft have dispersed from the airbase in the last 24 hours, according to the BBC. The US has since upgraded the security status at RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath to Force Protection Condition Charlie. A B-1B Lancer bomber pictured at the RAF Fairford, which was used to mount US strikes against Iran Your browser does not support iframes.

It is the second-highest defensive threat level in the US Department of Defense's security system and is announced when intelligence suggests terrorist action is likely. Former UK National Security Adviser, Lord Ricketts said the aircraft were 'large targets' that were 'inevitably vulnerable.' Speaking on the Today programme, he said: 'Nobody knows at this stage what this information was. I suspect part of it is an abundance of caution.'

Education Secretary Lucy Powell said the security of military bases in the UK was kept under review. The Education Secretary told Sky News: 'I can’t comment on those sort of live operations, as you know. 'But we’re constantly keeping the security of our bases under review and, as we’ve seen with other cases recently, we take firm and quick action where we need to.' It comes after the US military removed all of its B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire after a suspected Iranian terror plot near the base.

Five men were arrested outside the base in southwest England in September and two others arrested later on suspicion of assisting Iranian intelligence. Following a suspected terrorist plot, the Pentagon ordered the planes stationed at the base to return home despite some of the aircraft arriving days earlier. Last month Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the activity at the Gloucestershire airbase was likely to have been coordinated in Iran.

But Tehran's ambassador to the UK denied the accusations that it was involved in any plot at the base. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said in July that the Fairford base and any other base used to launch attacks against Iran were legitimate targets. The aircraft based at RAF Fairford were used to carry out strikes on Iran during the war which Donald Trump said is now militarily 'effectively over'. After a meeting with the Prime Minister of Qatar on Monday, the President said the US was 'seeing positive momentum toward an end' to the conflict.

In a statement shared on Truth Social, Trump said he had 'an excellent conversation' with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani. 'Most importantly, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, and others, would prefer the status quo, in other words, a continuation of the Greatest Naval Blockade in History,' Trump said. 'All have agreed that Iran cannot have a Nuclear Weapon — That is non-negotiable! 'Should there be any change with respect to developments in the Middle East, the United States of America is locked and loaded and ready to go.'

He added any further military action from the US 'seems to be quite unlikely' and that the entire Middle East are protected from Iran. 'We are seeing positive momentum toward an end to this Conflict, and will ensure that America’s interests are at all times protected. 'At the conclusion of this Military Engagement, the American People, and the World, will be far safer and more secure.' Do YOU have a story? Email Joshua.Haining@dailymail.co.uk