Burnham says IRGC 'almost certainly' directed the operation; Britain sanctions two Iranians, summons ambassador

A US B-1 strategic bomber at RAF Fairford in Britain on Sept. 27 (local time) [AFP]
A US B-1 strategic bomber at RAF Fairford in Britain on Sept. 27 (local time) [AFP]

Twenty-nine Western nations, including the United States and Britain, have named Iran as the force behind last month's terror plot targeting RAF Fairford and issued a sharp condemnation. The British government assessed it as highly likely that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps directed the operation, and raised its response by imposing additional sanctions on two Iranian nationals.

In a joint statement released Monday (local time) through the US Department of State, the countries said they "recognize the UK government's assessment that Iran was involved in the incident at RAF Fairford on Sept. 27," adding that Britain had "concluded the incident demonstrates Iran's enduring intent to conduct hostile activities across borders through clandestine networks and proxy actors."

The statement said the nations "condemn in the strongest possible terms Iran's violent attacks against us and our allies, including assassination plots, arson, sabotage and cyberattacks."

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham told Parliament that day that the government's assessment found the plot "was almost certainly organized in Iran and almost certainly directed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps."

Burnham said Britain "will not tolerate such threats on our soil" and pledged to use "every tool available to target and crack down hard on the criminal networks and funding routes Iran exploits."

The British Foreign Office summoned the Iranian ambassador to the United Kingdom and warned that threats to British territory would not be overlooked.

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said in a statement that Britain had designated two Iranian nationals for sanctions "for facilitating or engaging in hostile activity with the clear intent to threaten, plan and carry out attacks abroad on behalf of the Iranian regime."

The Foreign Office imposed immediate asset freezes and travel bans on Ruhollah Bazghandi, the IRGC's head of counterintelligence operations, and Shahram Ali Reza Tamarzadeh Zaki, a member of a criminal network linked to plots against Iranian dissidents.

On Sept. 27, five men were arrested on suspicion of terrorism-related offenses near RAF Fairford, a key base that US forces have used for airstrikes against Iran.

British police arrested two more suspects by Wednesday, bringing the total number of arrests to seven.

Following the incident, the US withdrew all strategic bombers stationed at the base to the American mainland. President Donald Trump acknowledged that a "terror threat" had prompted the withdrawal.

The joint statement warned that "any action by Iran to threaten, intimidate, silence, harm or coerce people in our territories, whether through proxies or other means, is unacceptable."

It added that "Iran should be under no illusion that we will remain united and committed to defending our sovereignty, strengthening international cooperation, enhancing national resilience, protecting our communities and ensuring those responsible are held to account."

Iran has repeatedly denied any involvement in the incident.

Iranian Ambassador to the UK Seyed Ali Mousavi said "Tehran has nothing to do with this matter" and called on the British government to present "documents or evidence" to back its claims, according to Iran's state-run IRNA news agency.


mokiya@heraldcorp.com