Andy Burnham Says Iran 'Played A Part' In Suspected RAF Fairford Terror Plot

Iran “played a part” in the suspected RAF Fairford terror plot, Andy Burnham has revealed.

The prime minister said “there are strong indications” that Tehran was involved in the incident.

It is the first time the UK government has drawn a direct link between the Iranian regime and the incident, which led to the arrest of five men on suspicion of explosives offences and terrorism.

That followed the discovery of three suspicious vans near the RAF base, has been used by the American military to launch bombing raids on Iran.

The five men, who were all British nationals from London, were subsequently released on bail – prompting criticism from Donald Trump, who said: “I wouldn’t have done that.”

Police confirmed on Tuesday that no explosives were found in the three vans.

In a statement issued by the Iranian embassy in the UK on Monday, Tehran vehemently denied any involvement in the RAF Fairford incident.

But Burnham, who chaired a meeting of the government’s emergency Cobra committee in the wake of the incident, told ITV News: “I can say that there are strong indications that Iran played a part in what happened over the weekend.

“So we can confirm our belief that they did play a part, but it remains a live police investigation in terms of counter terrorism police, so I don’t feel able to say anymore at this point in time.”

In a separate interview with the BBC, the prime minister said British officials were “working closely with our colleagues in the United States of America” as investigations continue.

MPs are not due to return to the Commons until October 12, but the PM told Sky News he “wouldn’t hesitate to recall parliament should that be necessary”.

Burnham’s confirmation of Iranian involvement comes after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hinted that Tehran was behind what happened.

He told Fox News: “There’s a lot of things I cannot say on the air for a lot of different reasons, but suffice it to say that what happened, what almost happened, what could have happened, in the UK over the weekend is a very serious situation.

“It’s one that clearly involved the hands of a foreign actor. I won’t get into great detail about that yet.”

Rubio then went on to specifically mention Iranian threats against the US, although he did not say they were definitely behind the incident.

He added: “We are dealing with elements in the world, in the case of Iran for example, who have openly threatened to attack American interests globally.

“We’re going to always take that very seriously. There will be repercussions for that.”

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