BBC examines why US withdrew B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford

IRGC considers Britain participant in US war with Iran

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps considers Britain already a participant in America’s war with Iran, a stance that publicly challenges the UK–US distinction on the conflict, according to BBC reporting. The BBC examined the context behind the US withdrawal of all 12 B-1 Lancer strategic bombers from RAF Fairford on Sunday — a departure so sudden that the air-to-air refuelling aircraft needed to ferry the bombers back across the Atlantic were reportedly still being fuelled up when bomber crews were ordered to scramble.

A BBC reporter pointed to “a cost factor” in the withdrawal. Each B-1 Lancer costs about $330 million. “The Americans have already suffered heavy financial losses from Iranian strikes on US bases in the Middle East,” the BBC reported. In late March, Iranian strikes hit Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, destroying an E-3 Sentry AWACS early-warning aircraft that alone cost more than half a billion dollars.

General Sir Richard Barrons, who served in one of the highest ranks in the British Armed Forces, said: “We now live in a world where a £1,000 drone could wreck one of those aircraft. So, I don’t know what the threat was but the most prudent thing to do would be to remove them to Texas given that they were not doing very much at the minute.”

“There was almost certainly a fresh piece of intelligence, whether true or not,” a BBC reporter wrote. British officials declined to disclose what intelligence prompted the withdrawal but said “there is an ongoing high tempo of threat from Iran to the UK, and it is logical that US airbases would be pretty high on any targeting list.” The UK is not at war with Iran; the US is — a distinction the IRGC has publicly challenged.

Vice President JD Vance attributed the withdrawal to “an abundance of caution,” saying Washington believed Iran was doing what it has “done for 49 years… which is engage in acts of terrorism against the US and against a lot of other people.” President Donald Trump, speaking after his vice president, said the US had removed the bombers because of “some threats” to the base and had moved the planes “around a little bit” rather than “tempting the enemy.” A BBC reporter covering the events wrote that “an abundance of panic is how others have seen it.”

The B-1 Lancers and other aircraft had operated from Fairford for the previous seven months, conducting strikes against Iranian missile launch sites. In July, Iran threatened that any country providing the US with such a facility would be considered a “legitimate target.” On September 27, British police declared a major incident after five British men were arrested and later bailed following reports of suspicious activity involving three white vans near the base perimeter in the dead of night. Over the weekend preceding the withdrawal, a UK-Iranian dual national was arrested on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts and was also released on bail.

Iran has denied any connection with events at RAF Fairford. Secretary of State Marco Rubio played down any link between the rushed withdrawal and the September 27 arrests, saying the US has “confidence in the security of all our bases” and is working “very closely” with UK authorities. UK counter-terrorism police are still investigating what happened at RAF Fairford and are keeping an open mind as to what exactly was behind events there. A BBC reporter said he had been told a large amount of data, CCTV and other information is still being trawled through while the arrested men remain on bail.

The BBC reporter wrote that “it is hard not to conclude that, despite efforts to play down the drama, this is an embarrassing episode for the UK,” and asked how the US ordering the bombers to leave reflects on Washington’s confidence in the ability of the UK to keep the base secure.

The BBC reporter assessed that “work will likely be ongoing in secret now to review security at the base on both sides of the perimeter fence.” Hundreds of American service members remain stationed at RAF Fairford and at other UK bases at Mildenhall and Lakenheath. The US has said it can deploy the bombers from domestic bases anywhere in the world — a characterization the BBC reporter described as “putting a brave face on something which, for Iran, sees a major US strike force effectively driven back to its home base in the continental United States.”