Potential Iranian Drone Attack Led to Exit of U.S. Bombers From U.K. Air Base RAF Fairford

The United States abruptly withdrew all 12 B-1 Air Force bombers from an air base in southern England based on new information that commanders received about a potential drone attack ordered by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to U.S. and British officials. The suspected attack was part of a complex, multipronged Iranian plot to strike aircraft and kill some of the several hundred American personnel stationed at the base, R.A.F. Fairford, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters. All of the Air Force bombers were withdrawn over the weekend. Some of the officials said they believed that the plot was loosely modeled on an audacious attack that Ukraine launched against Russia last year when it smuggled drones deep into the Russian heartland and launched them from semi trucks. The attack destroyed or damaged at least a dozen aircraft, including many of Moscow’s nuclear-capable strategic bombers, on runways in Siberia and Russia’s Far North. Vice President JD Vance said on Monday that the Pentagon quickly moved the bombers “out of an abundance of caution trying to protect our guys.” He accused Iran of plotting attacks against the United States but stopped short of commenting on any details about the most recent threat. “We do feel with some confidence that the Iranians are trying to do what the Iranian state has done for 49 years, which is engage in acts of terrorism against the United States and against a lot of other people as well,” Mr. Vance told reporters at Joint Base Andrews before leaving on a trip to Alaska. “We are being extremely cautious.” President Trump said on Monday that people linked to Iran posed a threat to the U.S. bombers at the British air base, prompting the order to return them to the United States. “There were some threats,” Mr. Trump told reporters. “Why should we leave them there?” he added, referring to the bombers. We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in . Want all of The Times? Subscribe .