US refueling aircraft evacuated from UK's RAF Mildenhall base due to Iran threat - report

The US military evacuated multiple aircraft from the UK's RAF Mildenhall air base due to a threat from Iran on Monday, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing individuals familiar with the matter.

The details and nature of the threat, according to the report, are still under discussion between US officials.Two refueling aircraft were diverted to Germany on Monday morning, and several other US refueling tankers were evacuated to Germany and other locations later in the day.A US Air Force spokesman declined to comment to the WSJ about the movement but said aircraft often rotate between bases and operating locations for multiple reasons.US aircraft evacuated from RAF Fairford in OctoberThe evacuation from RAF Mildenhall is the second UK base from which US aircraft have been evacuated in recent months, after US bomber aircraft at RAF Fairford were relocated in early October.

The B-1 bombers previously deployed at RAF Fairford were returned to the US due to concerns over a suspected Iran-backed plot to target American pilots and planes. Iran previously stated that it considers UK air bases that were used by the US Air Force during strikes on Iran as fair targets for retaliation.

According to the WSJ, top congressional leaders were briefed regarding Iranian threats. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday that the threat was being addressed by moving people away from the threat.

The US also recently upgraded security postures at RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath to FPCON Charlie, a precaution taken when intelligence suspects that some form of terrorist action may be likely, the WSJ cited a US official as stating.