“Strong indications” Iran had role in U.K. bomb plot, PM Andy Burnham says
Por Rebecca Falconer — Axios
U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said there are “strong indications that Iran played a part” in a suspected bomb plot at a British air base used by the U.S.
The big picture: Burnham’s comments to the BBC come after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that the weekend incident at RAF Fairford “clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor.” Tehran denies any involvement.
- Five British men were released on bail Monday following their arrest a day earlier in connection with the alleged plot.
What they’re saying: “We will say more in due course but we can confirm … that we believe Iran to have played a part,” Burnham told the BBC, declining to elaborate.
- He emphasized that the counter-terrorism investigation is ongoing and “complex” and that investigators are “working closely with our colleagues” in the U.S.
- Rubio told Fox News Monday that the incident “ties us to the reality here, and that is we are dealing with elements in the world — and in the case of Iran, for example, who have openly threatened to attack American interests globally.”
Context: U.K. earlier this year allowed the U.S. Air Force to use RAF Fairford for limited defensive strikes against Iranian missile capabilities.
- Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps named RAF Fairford in July when it said that any British base used for attacks on Iranian territory would be considered a “legitimate target.”
Fonte: Axios
