“Iran involved in a terror plot at UK base; 29 countries, including U.S. and UK, condemn it”

[Financial News] Twenty-nine Western countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, officially confirmed on the 12th (local time) that Iran was involved in a terror plot at RAF Fairford in the UK last month, and strongly condemned it.
In a joint statement issued through the U.S. State Department that day, the countries said, “We acknowledge the UK’s assessment that Iran was involved in the incident at RAF Fairford in the UK on September 27.” They added, “The UK also concluded that the incident demonstrates the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) continued willingness to conduct hostile activities across borders through clandestine networks and proxy forces.”
They also stressed, “We condemn in the strongest possible terms Iran’s acts of violence against us and our partners, including deadly plots, arson, sabotage and cyberattacks.”
Speaking in Parliament that day, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said that, according to the government’s assessment, “it is highly likely that [the attack] was organized in Iran, and it is almost certain that it was directed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).”
Burnham said, “We will not tolerate threats of this kind on our territory,” adding, “We will do everything we can to target Iran’s criminal networks and their funding channels and crack down hard on them.”
The UK Foreign Office summoned Iran’s ambassador to the UK and warned that it would not turn a blind eye to threats against British territory.
In a statement, British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said, “We have designated two Iranian nationals for sanctions for promoting or engaging in hostile activities with the clear intent of threatening, planning or carrying out attacks abroad on behalf of the Iranian regime.”
The UK Foreign Office said it had imposed measures including immediate asset freezes and entry bans on Ruhollah Bazghandi, who heads the IRGC’s counterintelligence operations, and Shahram Ali Reza Tamarzadeh Zaki, from a criminal group linked to plots against Iranian dissidents.
Earlier, on the 27th of last month, five men were arrested on suspicion of plotting a terrorist attack and other offenses near RAF Fairford, a key base the U.S. military has used for airstrikes against Iran.
British police arrested two more people by the 6th, bringing the total number arrested to seven.


After the incident, the United States withdrew all strategic bombers stationed at the base to the U.S. mainland, and U.S. President Donald Trump also acknowledged that a “terrorist threat” was behind the withdrawal.
In their joint statement, the United States, the United Kingdom and others warned, “We will not tolerate any actions by Iran, whether through proxy forces or other means, to threaten, intimidate, silence, harass, harm or coerce people in our territories.”
They added, “Iran should bear in mind that we will remain united and committed to defending our sovereignty, strengthening international cooperation, enhancing national resilience, protecting our communities and ensuring that those responsible are held accountable.”
Iran has repeatedly denied any involvement in the incident.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported that Iran’s ambassador to the UK, Seyed Ali Mousavi, said, “Tehran has nothing to do with this matter,” adding, “If the UK government has documents or evidence to support such claims, it should present them.”

[email protected] Lee Seok-woo, International Affairs Correspondent Reporter