US withdraws B-1 bomber aircraft from UK’s Fairford base amid Iran fears

The abrupt redeployment to the US comes after several ‘terrorism-related’ arrests were made outside RAF Fairford.

United States Air Force personnel work on a B-1 bomber at RAF Fairford on September 28, 2026 [Alastair Grant/AP Photo]

The United States has made the abrupt decision to withdraw its bombers from the Royal Air Force (RAF) base Fairford in the western part of the United Kingdom, citing concerns about a potential attack.

Media reports emerged on Sunday that an urgent redeployment was under way, with B-1 bombers leaving RAF Fairford for the US.

list 1 of 3 New aircraft carrier, 10,000 US troops: Is the Iran war about to escalate?

list 2 of 3 Iran says Hormuz to remain closed until US meets conditions

list 3 of 3 War on Iran: Is escalation more likely than a deal?

Roughly a dozen such aircraft had been based at RAF Fairford prior to the sudden departure.

“While operational security precluded us from confirming the movement of our assets and forces in real-time, we can acknowledge now that all US bombers that were deployed to RAF Fairford have re-deployed to their home stations in the United States,” a Pentagon spokesperson told Al Jazeera.

“The Airmen that operate America’s bomber force, including B-1s, B-2s, and B-52s, remain ready to deliver precision global strike capabilities – including through operations that launch and recover from the continental United States – anywhere, anytime,” the official added.

It is unclear precisely what prompted the withdrawal, which comes as the US and Israel remain embroiled in a war against Iran.

RAF Fairford has served as a stopping point for US bombers participating in the war, which began more than seven months ago, on February 28.

But the base, located roughly 160km (100 miles) west of London, has been rumoured to be the target of a “terror” plot involving Iran.

On September 27, UK authorities arrested five men on suspicion of plotting to plant explosives near the base.

Iran has denied any such scheme, and the men were released without charge a day later. Investigators discovered petrol, but no explosive devices, in their vans. Still, officials in the UK say they remain under investigation.

On Thursday, British police also announced they had arrested a 25-year-old UK-Iranian dual national in London on suspicion of plotting an attack against the airbase.

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham suggested last week that “Iran played a part” in the alleged plot, though he declined to provide details.

“The investigation into circumstances surrounding events in Gloucestershire is hugely complex, and our specialist teams are interrogating multiple lines of enquiry,” Senior National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing Vicki Evans said in a statement.

“As we’ve made clear, we’re looking at all possible angles – including possible foreign state involvement.”

US President Donald Trump responded to the initial arrests by accusing the men of seeking to do “big damage” to US facilities. He also praised UK authorities for their efforts.

“The arrest in the UK was fantastic. Working with Britain – it was an amazing job. We had them under investigation,” Trump said of the suspects. “We had them under view for a long time, and we got them.”

Iran, meanwhile, summoned the UK ambassador to Tehran over the last week in protest of the arrests.

The US has a long history of stationing forces at RAF Fairford during its wars in the Middle East, stretching back to the Gulf War in the 1990s.

RAF Fairford has been the site of antiwar protests in the past. During one instance, in 2003, five protesters broke into the airbase in an attempt to destroy military equipment slated to be used in the US invasion of Iraq.

The UK has largely declined to participate in the ongoing war on Iran, despite pressure from the Trump administration.

Still, while the UK government was initially hesitant to let the US use its bases for the war, it granted the US “defensive” access to bases, including Fairford and RAF Diego Garcia, in March.

在英国皇家空军费尔福德基地外发生多起“与恐怖主义有关”的逮捕事件后，这支部队被突然调往美国。

2026年9月28日，美国空军人员在费尔福德皇家空军基地对一架B-1轰炸机进行维护。[阿拉斯泰尔·格兰特/美联社照片]

美国突然决定从英国西部的皇家空军费尔福德基地撤出轰炸机，理由是担心可能遭到袭击。

周日有媒体报道称，紧急重新部署正在进行中，B-1 轰炸机正从英国皇家空军费尔福德基地飞往美国。

列表 1/3 新型航空母舰，10,000 名美军士兵：伊朗战争即将升级吗？

伊朗表示，霍尔木兹海峡将继续关闭，直到美国满足条件（共3条记录中的第2条）。

伊朗战争：局势升级的可能性大于达成协议的可能性吗？（共 3 项）

在突然撤离之前，大约有十几架这样的飞机驻扎在费尔福德皇家空军基地。

五角大楼发言人告诉半岛电视台：“虽然出于行动安全考虑，我们无法实时确认我们的资产和部队的调动情况，但我们现在可以确认，所有部署到英国皇家空军费尔福德基地的美国轰炸机都已重新部署到其在美国的驻地。”

这位官员补充说：“操作美国轰炸机部队（包括 B-1、B-2 和 B-52）的空军人员随时准备提供精确的全球打击能力——包括从美国本土起飞和回收的行动——随时随地。”

目前尚不清楚究竟是什么原因促使美军撤离，而此时美国和以色列仍深陷与伊朗的战争之中。

英国皇家空军费尔福德基地一直是参与这场战争的美国轰炸机的中转站。这场战争始于七个多月前的2月28日。

但据传，该基地位于伦敦以西约 160 公里（100 英里）处，是伊朗参与的“恐怖袭击”阴谋的目标。

9月27日，英国当局逮捕了五名男子，他们涉嫌密谋在基地附近放置爆炸物。

伊朗否认了任何此类阴谋，这些人一天后被无罪释放。调查人员在他们的货车里发现了汽油，但没有发现爆炸装置。尽管如此，英国官员表示，他们仍在接受调查。

周四，英国警方还宣布，他们在伦敦逮捕了一名 25 岁的英国-伊朗双重国籍公民，该公民涉嫌策划袭击空军基地。

英国首相安迪·伯纳姆上周暗示“伊朗参与了”这起所谓的阴谋，但他拒绝提供细节。

“对格洛斯特郡事件相关情况的调查非常复杂，我们的专家团队正在对多条调查线索进行讯问，”反恐警务高级国家协调员维姬·埃文斯在一份声明中表示。

“正如我们已经明确表示的那样，我们正在调查所有可能的角度——包括外国政府可能的介入。”

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普对最初的逮捕行动作出回应，指责这些人企图对美国设施造成“重大破坏”。他还赞扬了英国当局的努力。

“在英国的逮捕行动太棒了。与英国合作——这是一项了不起的工作。我们对嫌疑人进行了调查，”特朗普谈到嫌疑人时说。“我们监视他们很长时间了，最​​终抓住了他们。”

与此同时，伊朗上周召见了英国驻德黑兰大使，以抗议这些逮捕行动。

美国在中东战争期间，长期以来一直向英国皇家空军费尔福德基地驻扎军队，这一历史可以追溯到 20 世纪 90 年代的海湾战争。

费尔福德皇家空军基地过去曾发生过反战抗议活动。2003年，曾有五名抗议者闯入该空军基地，试图摧毁计划用于美国入侵伊拉克的军事装备。

尽管受到特朗普政府的压力，英国基本上拒绝参与正在进行的对伊朗战争。

尽管英国政府最初不愿让美国将其基地用于战争，但3月份还是允许美国出于“防御”目的使用包括费尔福德和迪戈加西亚皇家空军基地在内的基地。