ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Monday that a foiled suspected attack on RAF Fairford in late September was “highly likely” to have been coordinated in Iran and “almost certainly” directed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), with London imposing sanctions on two Iranian nationals in response.

On 27 September, suspicious activity involving three vehicles near the US-linked base in England's Gloucstershire prompted a major counter-terrorism probe and the evacuation of the surrounding neighborhood.

Six London-based British citizens were arrested in the September incident, including a UK-Iranian dual national; all men in their mid-20s were released on bail, drawing rebuke from Washington.

Earlier in December, the US confirmed that it had withdrawn all B-1 bombers from the British airbase RAF Fairford, following the September incident.

“We can confirm our assessment that it is highly likely to have been coordinated in Iran, almost certainly directed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard,” Burnham said on Monday.

UK will not tolerate “these threats on our soil,” he said, adding that “we will crack down on Iran's use of criminal networks, using our full range of powers to target them and their funding streams.”

“We will bring further sanctions to restrict the capacity of Iran and the IRGC to do us harm,” Burnham said.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Monday said that a suspected attack on the RAF Fairford base that was foiled by security services in late September was "highly likely" to have been coordinated in Iran and was "almost certainly" directed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

— The New Region (@thenewregion) October 12, 2026

The developments came as UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced additional sanctions against two Iranian nationals on Monday, according to a government statement.

The two Iranian nationals were sanctioned for their alleged role in “facilitating or engaging in hostile activity on behalf of the Iranian regime, with the clear intent of threatening, planning, or conducting attacks overseas,” the statement said.

Following the September incident, Iran’s embassy in London rejected and condemned a British investigation into an alleged Iranian link to a suspected terrorist act at the RAF Fairford air base, calling it an attempt to “fuel Iranophobia propaganda in the UK.”

Tehran reserves the right to take “appropriate legal measures” to safeguard the interests of the country, it said.

When asked about Iran’s alleged involvement in the September incident, US President Donald Trump said earlier in October, “I wouldn’t have done that,” while Secretary of State Marco Rubio alleged that a “foreign actor” was involved.