The United States confirmed on Sunday, October 4th, 2026 that it has withdrawn all B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford, the British airbase at the centre of a counter-terrorism investigation after a mysterious security incident last month.
A Pentagon official said all bombers deployed there had returned to their home stations in the US, adding that operational security had prevented the military from confirming the movements in real time.
Roughly a dozen of the aircraft had been based at Fairford, the only airbase on mainland Britain used for this purpose. Britain granted Washington permission in March to use it for “specific defensive operations into Iran.”
The incident began when a farmer in the village of Whelford, near the base, called police after seeing three vans blocking a road and masked men fleeing the scene.
About 85 homes were evacuated. Investigators found no explosives in the vans, but said a quantity of petrol was recovered. Speculation about the motive has ranged from a terror plot to fuel theft, as UK energy prices hit record highs this week.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said there were strong indications that Iran played a part, a charge Tehran rejects. Iran also summoned the UK ambassador in Tehran to protest the arrests.
Six London-based men in their mid-20s, including a UK-Iranian dual national, were arrested and later released on bail, which drew a rebuke from Washington.
“I wouldn’t have done that,” President Donald Trump told reporters, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio alleged the involvement of a “foreign actor.”
British counter-terrorism officials say the investigation remains “hugely complex,” with multiple lines of enquiry still open.
The US still maintains a sizeable military presence in the Middle East, with the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier and an amphibious readiness group reportedly heading for the region.
