The US military removed additional aircraft from an air base in England on Monday after receiving a new threat from Iran, marking the second such move in two months.
The Wall Street Journal, which reported the development, did not say whether the threat to RAF Mildenhall—located roughly 80 miles northeast of London—was considered imminent or broader in nature. Two aerial refueling tankers traveling to the base were diverted to Germany Monday morning, while other tankers were relocated later that day.
House and Senate leaders from both parties, along with the heads of the intelligence committees in each chamber—the group commonly known as the “Gang of Eight”—were briefed Monday on Iranian threats to US interests, according to the Journal. The briefings came as Congress returned to Washington following the midterm elections.
The latest precaution followed the withdrawal of 12 B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford, about 90 miles west of London, in early October. That decision came after authorities uncovered an alleged drone attack plot linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC. It also followed the disruption of an alleged terror plan involving a van packed with explosives near the base, resulting in the arrest of five suspects.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said there were “strong indications” that the Iranian government had been involved in the bombing plot. Vice President JD Vance said the bombers were removed from Fairford as a precautionary measure.
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“We had an idea that there might be a threat,” President Trump told reporters on Oct. 5. “So why would I leave them there?”
In an Oct. 23 memo to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton said Iran had “substantially increased efforts to target U.S. personnel.” He added that Iranian efforts to carry out lethal attacks against Americans had reached an advanced stage in the Middle East and elsewhere.
Asked about the memo in Paris on Monday, Rubio said the administration had responded “by moving people away from the threat.”
At the White House, Trump told reporters that restarting strikes against Iran “doesn’t seem to be a very necessary thing” at present. He pointed to ongoing negotiations with Tehran and said Middle Eastern allies, including Saudi Arabia, preferred maintaining a blockade on Iranian trade over returning to a full-scale conflict.
“Should there be any change with respect to developments in the Middle East,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, “the United States of America is ‘locked and loaded’ and ready to go.”
