Iran rejected being involved in a suspected plot to attack a U.S.-operated air force base in England from which aircraft has departed to conduct campaigns in the ongoing war.
The Iranian embassy in London said in a statement on Monday that it "categorically rejects and strongly condemns the recent unfounded and malicious speculations published by some British individuals and media outlets attempting to link Iran to arrest of five suspects in the vicinity of RAF Fairford base."
Different outlets recalled that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened the Fairford base in July, months after the UK authorized the use of the base to strike Iranian missile sites used to attack ships transiting through the Strait of Hormuz. "Any base used for aggression against Iranian territory constitutes a legitimate target for our forces," the IRGC said back then.
Days after, CNN recalled, Iranian media published a video of a group of people at the perimeter fence of the base. The Iranian flag was hanging on the fence. "We came to stand just a few meters from the nest of hostile aircraft and raise the proud flag of Iran," the man said.
Five men were arrested on suspicion of a terrorist plot to attack the airbase. They are all London residents aged between 23 and 25. They have not been identified.
Vicki Evans, a senior counter-terrorism officer called the operation "hugely complex and large-scale." A bomb disposal robot could be seen near vans located in woods near the base. CNN reported that one of its teams heard what sounded like two controlled detonations. Residents of 85 homes near the base were evacuated.
President Donald Trump reacted to the arrests, calling them "fantastic" and claiming both countries had been following the men for "a long time."
"Working with Britain, it was an amazing job," Trump added. "They were looking to do big damage to our fort and working with the British worked out great."
British Defense Minister Wes Streeting, on his end, said he didn't want to "speculate at this stage of the investigation."
"As and when we can, we will report back to the public about these individuals and about the nature of the threat," Streeting added when talking to Times Radio. Investigators have not concluded whether there is a state involved in the plot.
