Western officials are weighing up whether to issue public warnings that Iran now considers US military targets in Europe, such as RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, as potential objectives. This follows an incident near the airbase on 27 September.
MI5 has accepted that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has sought to coordinate and promote the targeting of the Jewish community in the UK and Europe. This campaign reportedly began in March with arson attacks on synagogues and similar sites.
A week after the RAF Fairford incident, the US withdrew 12 B-1 bombers stationed at the base. Leaks to US media suggested concerns about a potential Ukraine-style drone attack. Five men were arrested near the airbase on 27 September and later released on police bail, with no explosives found or discernible plot discovered. Two additional men have been arrested on suspicion of terror offences and released on police bail. Prime Minister Andy Burnham stated there were “strong indications” of Iranian involvement, and Met police chief Mark Rowley indicated that further progress in the investigation is expected.
Lord Ricketts, a former UK national security adviser, said it is prudent to assume Iran would be interested in attacking a wider range of targets given the use of Fairford by US bombers. Dr Antonio Giustozzi, a terrorism specialist, suggested the drive to the village near Fairford may have been a “feint” to hint at potential actions, though he is sceptical of Iran's capability to pose a real military threat to the base.
Last week, two Iranian nationals, Salam Ahmadyan and Rahman Salehi, were charged with terror offences, accused of attempting to target the Jewish community in Manchester with a homemade chlorine powder bomb. Prosecutors stated the pair were in contact with a third party, believed to be in Iran, who directed them and provided instructions for an explosive device. A trial has been scheduled at the Old Bailey.
In May, the US indicted Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, an Iranian-Iraqi dual national, accusing him of promoting and coordinating 18 arson and other low-level terror attacks against Jewish and US sites in the UK and Europe during March and April 2026. Al-Saadi, who US authorities identified as a commander with Kata’ib Hezbollah, pleaded not guilty in June and faces a terrorism trial.