The United States has withdrawn military aircraft from a second airbase in the United Kingdom following an alleged threat from Iran, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal, WSJ, which cited sources familiar with the development.
The newspaper reported that several US military refuelling tankers were moved out of the Royal Air Force, RAF, Mildenhall base in eastern England on Monday following the reported threat.
Sky News also reported on Tuesday, citing flight-tracking sources, that 12 aircraft, comprising nine refuelling tankers and three Osprey transport aircraft, departed the base a day earlier.
However, the WSJ said American officials were still discussing the exact nature of the alleged Iranian threat. The Pentagon had yet to respond to a request for comment at the time of the report.
A spokesperson said military aircraft and other equipment were routinely relocated based on operational requirements.
The latest withdrawal comes weeks after the US moved B-1 bombers away from another British military installation, RAF Fairford, following what President Donald Trump described as unspecified threats connected to Iran.
The development followed a security incident at the base in southwest England in September, which Prime Minister Andy Burnham said was almost certainly directed by Iran's Revolutionary Guards.
Seven people, including a British-Iranian national, were arrested over an alleged plot targeting the military facility. Last month, counterterrorism police charged two of the suspects with offences relating to national security.
Meanwhile, Trump said on Monday that Washington was witnessing “positive momentum towards an end” to the conflict with Iran, which began in late February after the US president ordered military strikes against the country alongside Israel.
RAF Mildenhall is home to the US Air Force's 100th Air Refuelling Wing, which operates Stratotanker aircraft, Commando II planes and Osprey transport aircraft.
According to the WSJ, two of the tankers withdrawn from the base were diverted to Germany, while several other aircraft were subsequently relocated to Germany and other destinations later on Monday.
The 100th Air Refuelling Wing had not issued an immediate response to a request for comment.
British government minister Lucy Powell said security arrangements at military installations were regularly assessed, stressing that authorities remained prepared to respond to potential threats.
“I can’t comment on those sort of live operations,” she told Sky News.
“As we’ve seen with other cases recently, we take firm and quick action where we need to.”
US withdraws military aircraft from second UK base over Iran threat