US military planes 'pulled out of second UK airbase over Iran threats'

Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today. Join today Already a member? Log in American military aircraft were pulled out of a second British airbase on Monday because of a threat from Iran , the Wall Street Journal has reported . The newspaper cited people familiar with the matter for its account of the evacuation at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk.

It comes weeks after Washington withdrew its bombers from RAF Fairford airbase over a suspected Iran-linked security incident. Two US refuelling tankers that had been using RAF Mildenhall diverted to Germany earlier on Monday, according to the WSJ report. Several other tankers at the base were moved to Germany and other locations later in the day, the report said. The WSJ reported that US officials are still discussing the precise nature of the threat to RAF Mildenhall. open image in gallery Aircrews on the airfield at RAF Mildenhall ( PA ) Citing a US official familiar with the matter, the WSJ report said the US upgraded the security posture at RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath to FPCON Charlie.

Force Protection Condition (FPCON) Charlie is the second-highest defensive threat level in the US Department of Defense's security system. It occurs when intelligence indicates that a form of terrorist action is likely. “We do not routinely comment on the activity of other nations. Aircraft and other assets move regularly according to operational requirements,” a British Ministry of Defence spokesperson said. A US Air Force spokesperson declined to provide the WSJ with details about the movement of assets.

The spokesperson said, however, that US aircraft rotate between installations and operating locations for a variety of reasons. open image in gallery Signage at the entrance road to RAF Mildenhall ( Reuters ) Reuters could not immediately reach the US Air Force. The White House, the Pentagon and the US European Command did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent outside regular business hours. The suspected Iran-linked incident at RAF Fairford in southwest England led to five men being arrested outside the airbase in September.

Two others were arrested later on suspicion of assisting Iranian intelligence. The circumstances of the incident remain largely unexplained. It attracted huge international attention at a time of heightened concern about the security implications for Western states of the war between the United States and Iran. The episode prompted the US to remove its B-1 bombers from the Fairford airbase on security grounds. RAF Fairford had been used by US bombers to carry out strikes on Iran.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said in October that the activity at RAF Fairford was likely to have been coordinated in Iran. Tehran's ambassador to Britain has denied accusations that it was involved in any plot against the airbase.