"Clearly Foreign Forces Involved"... Rubio Points to Foreign Actors Behind Terror Plot at United Kingdom Base Housing U.S. Military Bombers Amid "Iran Strikes"

[Financial News] Marco Rubio, the U.S. secretary of state and national security adviser, claimed that "there is clearly a foreign hand involved" in an alleged terror plot uncovered near RAF Fairford, a Royal Air Force base where U.S. military bombers are stationed.
In a Fox News interview on the 28th, local time, Rubio described the incident near RAF Fairford the previous day as "a very serious situation that very nearly happened." British counterterrorism police are investigating multiple possibilities, including Russian sabotage and Iranian links. The United States' top diplomatic and security official was the first to publicly identify foreign actors as possible backers.
Rubio did not name a specific country, citing the need to protect the investigation. However, he warned, "We are confronting forces around the world that openly threaten attacks on U.S. interests, and Iran is one example. If something like that happens or is attempted, there will be a price to pay." Earlier, when reporters asked U.S. President Donald Trump whether Iran could be behind the plot, he suggested, "Maybe it is," adding, "We've been watching them for a long time, and we caught them."
On the 27th, five British men in their 20s from London were arrested near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire after a local farmer reported seeing them masked and riding in three large white vans. Counterterrorism police immediately declared a "major incident" and restricted access around the base, while the British government convened an emergency national security meeting. However, according to Reuters and other foreign media, no viable explosives were found in the vans during the investigation. Police have released all five men on bail and are continuing their inquiries.
Appearing mindful of public concern following the suspects' release, Rubio thanked British authorities, saying, "The British investigative authorities were extremely cooperative and thoroughly assessed the situation and responded accordingly." UK police are currently investigating both possibilities: that the suspects were agents acting on the orders of a foreign government or homegrown Islamic extremists.
RAF Fairford, the apparent primary target, is a key military facility that served as a strategic outpost for the U.S. Air Force during the Cold War, the 1991 Gulf War and the 2003 air campaign in Iraq. The U.S. Air Force's 501st Combat Support Wing is based there. More recently, the base was used to launch bombers when U.S. forces attacked Iranian missile bases. In July, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) designated the base a "legitimate attack target" and issued threats against it.
Meanwhile, the Iranian Embassy in the United Kingdom has categorically denied any involvement in response to repeated reports alleging an Iranian connection, calling them "unfounded and malicious speculation that fuels anti-Iran sentiment in the United Kingdom."   

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