US military evacuates aircraft from RAF Mildenhall over Iran threat, Digi Mart USA News (Suffolk, England): The US military evacuated aircraft from an airbase in Britain on Monday following a threat from Iran, according to reports. The Wall Street Journal reported that two US refuelling tankers stationed at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk were diverted to Germany on Monday morning, while several other tankers at the base were moved to Germany and other locations later in the day.
The exact nature of the threat, including whether it is an imminent risk or a more general response, is not yet known and remains under discussion among US officials. The threat level at the base has been upgraded to Force Protection Condition (FPCon) Charlie, the second-highest defensive threat level used by the US Department of Defense.
FPCon Charlie is used when an incident has occurred or intelligence suggests a form of terrorist action targeting personnel or facilities is likely. At least seven other planes were evacuated from RAF Mildenhall later in the day, according to The Telegraph.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said in a statement: “We do not routinely comment on the activity of other nations. Aircraft and other assets move regularly according to operational requirements.”
The development comes weeks after the US withdrew its bombers from RAF Fairford following a suspected Iran-related terror incident near that airbase. Seven British men were arrested over a suspected terror plot near the airbase in September after reports of suspicious vehicles near the Gloucestershire village airbase.
Police initially arrested five men who were found in vans near the perimeter of the airbase with containers of petrol, but no explosive devices. Two of the men have since been charged under the National Security Act, and police believe they were acting under the instructions of an Iranian handler.
Counter-terror police are continuing to investigate the incident and its links to Iran.
On Monday, President Donald Trump said the US was “seeing positive momentum toward an end” to the conflict with Iran. In a post on Truth Social, he said he had held an excellent conversation with the Prime Minister of Qatar, in which the Islamic Republic of Iran was discussed.
He wrote that Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and others would prefer the status quo, meaning a continuation of the “Greatest Naval Blockade in History” and the new Operation Iron Gate, and that all had agreed Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, which he called non-negotiable. He said the United States was “locked and loaded” should developments in the Middle East change, but that this seemed unlikely, and that “We are seeing positive momentum toward an end to this Conflict.”
Cabinet minister Lucy Powell said the security of military bases in the UK was kept under review. The Education Secretary told Sky News: “I can’t comment on those sort of live operations, as you know.
But we’re constantly keeping the security of our bases under review and, as we’ve seen with other cases recently, we take firm and quick action where we need to.”
