Iran 'almost certainly' directed RAF Fairford incident, UK PM says

Britain's Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Monday that Iran's Revolutionary Guards "almost certainly directed" the RAF Fairford incident, a major security scare at a UK airbase used by the US military for its war in Iran. It happened on September 27.

What did Andy Burnham say about the RAF Fairford incident?

Burnham told parliament that Britain assesses the incident as highly likely to have been coordinated in Iran and directed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard. He warned that Britain will not tolerate such threats on its soil and will target Iran's criminal networks and their funding.

What happened at RAF Fairford on September 27?

Police were called to the base in southwest England after a local farmer reported a group of men with several white vans engaged in "suspicious" activity. British authorities declared the incident "major" and evacuated a nearby village.

Investigators found no explosives in the vans but recovered some petrol, according to officials. The United States abruptly withdrew all its B-1 bombers from the base last week after the incident.

How has the UK responded to the RAF Fairford incident?

The Foreign Office confirmed in a statement on Monday that Iran's ambassador to the UK had been summoned for talks. Foreign minister Ed Miliband said Britain was also designating two Iranian nationals for facilitating or engaging in hostile activity on behalf of the Iranian regime.

Miliband said the designations were made with the clear intent of threatening, planning or conducting attacks overseas. He added that the UK had already designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) under its new state threats powers and imposed major sanctions on those responsible for Iran's malign activity.

Has anyone been charged over the RAF Fairford incident?

No one has been charged. Seven suspects were arrested in the days after the incident, including a British-Iranian national, and all have since been released on bail following a major counter-terrorism probe.

Speculation has swirled about the incident since September 27, but the source and nature of the threat have remained shrouded in mystery.