Trump said a return to war with Iran was unlikely
The United States evacuated aircraft from RAF Mildenhall in the U.K. on Monday following a threat from Iran, according to people familiar with the matter. People familiar with the matter said the precise nature of the threat, whether imminent or more general, remained under discussion among U.S. officials.
A U.S. Air Force spokesperson declined to provide details about the movement of assets but said in a statement that U.S. aircraft rotate between installations and operating locations for a variety of reasons. The White House referred a request for comment to the Pentagon.
Two U.S. refueling tankers that had been using Mildenhall diverted to Germany earlier in the morning, while several other tankers at the base moved to Germany and other locations later in the day, according to flight-tracking data and another official familiar with the matter.
According to a U.S. official familiar with the matter, the United States raised the security posture at RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath, both used by the U.S. military, to FPCON Charlie, the level that occurs when intelligence indicates that a form of terrorist action is likely. The War Zone, a military news site, earlier reported the security changes.
The Mildenhall movement came after the Pentagon sent B-1 bomber aircraft back to the United States from another base in England, RAF Fairford. The Wall Street Journal reported that officials had grown concerned about a complex Iran-backed plot to kill American pilots and target the aircraft using drones and other measures.
Tehran has said its retaliation for any U.S. attack on Iran would expand beyond the Middle East. The “Gang of Eight,” the top congressional political and intelligence leaders, received a briefing Monday about Iran’s threats, according to a person familiar with the meeting.
Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton said in October that Iran was in “advanced stages” of planning to target U.S. personnel in the Middle East, explaining the rationale for a sudden evacuation of diplomats from regional posts. Asked about that concern on Monday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, “We’ve addressed it by moving people away from the threat.”
The reported threat came as President Trump weighed moving forward with additional strikes on Iran, amid a movement to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the Iran war. Hegseth has defended the war and vowed to fight the impeachment effort.
Trump on Monday posted on social media that a return to war with Iran was “unlikely” and later told reporters at the White House, “At this point, taking military action doesn’t seem to be a very necessary thing.”
Trump cited progress in negotiations with Iran and the preference of Middle Eastern allies for a continuation of the blockade on Iranian trade rather than an escalated confrontation. “Should there be any change with respect to developments in the Middle East, the United States of America is ‘locked and loaded’ and ready to go,” Trump wrote.
People familiar with the matter said the precise nature of the Iran threat remained under discussion among U.S. officials. The Air Force had not described the movements, and the White House had referred comment requests to the Pentagon.