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British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Monday that a suspected plot targeting the Royal Air Force (RAF) Fairford air base was "highly likely" coordinated in Iran and “almost certainly” directed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as Britain sanctioned two Iranians and summoned Tehran’s ambassador.
"I can confirm our assessment that it is highly likely to have been coordinated in Iran, almost certainly directed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps," Burnham told Parliament.
It is the firmest attribution yet by Britain over the Sept. 27 incident at a base used by U.S. bombers to strike Iran, which led Washington to withdraw its B-1 bombers, though no one has been charged.
"We will not tolerate these threats on our soil," Burnham said.
"We will crack down on Iran’s use of criminal networks, using our full range of powers to target them and their funding streams, and we will bring further sanctions to restrict the capacity of Iran and the IRGC to do us harm," he added.
Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood told Parliament that a known individual based in Iran, whom she did not name, was believed to be behind the incident.
"He (Miliband) will condemn Iran’s continued attempts to undermine our safety. We are also sanctioning two individuals involved in conducting espionage and attacks on behalf of the government of Iran in Europe and the U.S., and we will not hesitate to take further action to restrict Iran’s capacity to threaten international security," she said.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said Britain sanctioned Ruhollah Bazghandi, whom it described as the IRGC's head of counterespionage operations, and Shahram Ali Reza Tamarzadeh Jakki, an alleged facilitator for the Zindashti criminal network, with asset freezes, travel bans and director disqualifications.
The two were sanctioned for "their role in facilitating or engaging in hostile activity on behalf of the Iranian regime, with the clear intent of threatening, planning or conducting attacks overseas," Miliband said.
"Iran's continued attempts to undermine the security of the United Kingdom and international partners through its criminal networks, proxy groups and state-backed malign activity is unacceptable,' he said.
"This Government will never waver in our commitment to tackling Iran’s unacceptable actions and protecting our national security. We have already designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps under our new state threats powers," Miliband noted.
Foreign ministers of 29 countries, including the United States, France, Germany, Canada and Australia, issued a joint statement condemning "in the strongest terms Iran’s use of violent attacks," including "the acts of lethal plotting, arson, sabotage, cyber-attacks, and other hybrid activities against us and our partners."
"We recognise the United Kingdom’s attribution of Iran’s involvement in the incident at RAF Fairford on 27 September," the statement said, adding that the United Kingdom had concluded the event "demonstrates the IRGC’s continued willingness to project hostile activity beyond its borders through covert networks and proxy actors."
"Any attempt by Iran to threaten, silence, intimidate, harass, harm, or coerce people on our territories through proxies or any other means is unacceptable," it said. "Iran should be in no doubt that we are united and remain committed to safeguarding our sovereignty and strengthening our international coordination."
Iran's ambassador to Britain, Seyed Ali Mousavi, rejected the accusations.
"Tehran has had no involvement in this matter, and if the British government possesses any documents or evidence to support its claims, it should present them," he said, according to IRNA.
Meeting British Foreign Office Minister Stephen Doughty, Mousavi urged Britain to "refrain from taking any position without evidence” and reiterated Iran's readiness for “cooperation between the relevant institutions of the two countries," IRNA reported. Iran has called the allegations "unfounded and malicious speculations."
Five men from London were arrested near the base on Sept. 27 on suspicion of terrorism and explosives offenses and later released on bail.
Two other men, including a British-Iranian national, were also released.
Police found petrol but no viable explosive in vans seized with the men.
Some experts have speculated the incident was a "feint" to show Iran could in theory attack a relatively open site. Britain said last year there had been 20 credible Iranian-backed threats to kill or kidnap people in the United Kingdom, accusations Tehran has denied, as scrutiny of the RAF Fairford case continues.
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