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Iran's embassy in London said it rejected and condemned allegations that it was involved in the incident.
Iran's embassy in London said it rejected and condemned allegations that it was involved in the incident. The incident occurred at RAF Fairford in England, which has been used by the US military to carry out strikes against Iran.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham says there are indications Iran was involved in suspicious activity at a UK airbase. Iran's embassy in London said it "categorically rejects and strongly condemns" allegations it was involved. United Kingdom Prime Minister Andy Burnham says there are "strong indications" Iran was involved in suspicious activity at a UK airbase that triggered a major security incident.
"There are strong indications that Iran played a part in what happened over the weekend at RAF Fairford," Burnham told the BBC on Wednesday,"Of course it remains an ongoing, complex, and serious police investigation," Burnham said. Iran's embassy in London earlier said it "categorically rejects and strongly condemns" speculation it was involved in the incident. Police said on Tuesday that no explosives were found at the scene. Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you.
Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox. Burnham's comments are the first official confirmation from UK authorities that Iran may have had a hand in the incident, which saw three white vans appearing to head towards RAF Fairford in the early hours of Sunday. A local resident who rang the police said she saw a group of masked men near the vans, which were blocking a road in a village next to the military base.
The case was plunged into confusion when UK police released on bail five UK men it had arrested on Sunday on suspicion of explosives and terrorist offences. After three days of investigations, including using a bomb disposal team, police said Tuesday they had found no explosives in the vehicles, but they had retrieved a "quantity of petrol".
Then on Wednesday, The Times newspaper reported that the incident had been foiled after one of the five suspects tipped off the police before the group was apprehended. US President Donald Trump and his secretary of state Marco Rubio had previously indicated that intelligence bodies were aware of the suspects and that a foreign state could be involved, but UK officials had not weighed in.
"We have been waiting to confirm what we could say, but we can now confirm our belief that Iran played a part," Burnham told Sky News. Speculation was rife that Iran or another hostile state could have been involved, after Iran previously warned London against allowing its military bases to be used by the US.
The UK gave the US the green light to use RAF Fairford for defensive strikes against Iran, drawing Iran's ire and unease from some residents in the Gloucestershire countryside where the base is located. Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.
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