US reportedly evacuated aircraft from RAF Mildenhall over Iran threat

Signage at the entrance road to RAF Mildenhall, where the US has reportedly withdrawn aircraft after a threat from Iran. Photograph: Chris Radburn/Reuters View image in fullscreen Signage at the entrance road to RAF Mildenhall, where the US has reportedly withdrawn aircraft after a threat from Iran. Photograph: Chris Radburn/Reuters The reported evacuation comes weeks after the US withdrew bombers from RAF Fairford over a suspected Iran-linked security incident The US military evacuated aircraft from a second airbase in ⁠Britain on Monday after a threat from Iran, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, citing people familiar with the matter, weeks after Washington withdrew its bombers from ⁠RAF Fairford airbase over ⁠a suspected Iran-linked ​security incident. Two US refuelling tankers that were using the RAF Mildenhall military base diverted to Germany earlier on Monday, while several other tankers at the base ⁠were moved to Germany and other locations later in the day, the WSJ report said. Two men re-arrested on suspicion of aiding Iran over RAF Fairford incident The precise nature of the threat to RAF Mildenhall remains ⁠under discussion among US officials, it reported. The US upgraded the security posture at RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath, the report said, citing a US ‌official familiar with the ‌matter. The posture was upgraded to Force Protection Condition (FPCON) Charlie, which is the second-highest defensive threat level in the US Department of Defense’s security system ‌and occurs when intelligence indicates that a form of terrorist action is likely. “We do not routinely comment on the activity of other nations. Aircraft and other assets move regularly according to operational requirements,” a British Ministry of Defence spokesperson said. A US Air Force spokesperson declined to provide the WSJ with details about the movement of assets, but said US aircraft rotate between installations and operating locations for a variety of ‌reasons. Reuters could not immediately reach the US Air Force, while the White House, the Pentagon and the US European Command did not immediately respond to requests for comment ​sent outside regular business hours. Five men were arrested outside RAF Fairford airbase in south-west England in September over a security incident with two others arrested later on suspicion of assisting Iranian intelligence. The circumstances of the incident, which remain largely unexplained, attracted huge international attention, coming at a time of heightened concern about the security implications for western states ⁠of the war between the US and Iran, and prompted the US ​to remove its B-1 bombers ​from the Fairford airbase on security grounds.