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British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Monday that a suspected plot targeting Fairford Air Base was likely coordinated in Iran, and almost certainly carried out under the direction of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Burnham told Parliament, "I can confirm our assessment that it is highly likely this was coordinated in Iran, and almost certainly directed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps."
Burnham added, "We will not tolerate these threats on our soil. We will resolutely counter Iran's use of criminal networks, use our full powers to target these networks and their sources of funding, and also impose further sanctions to limit the ability of Iran and the Revolutionary Guard to harm us."
US bombers used Fairford base to carry out strikes on Iran, but US President Donald Trump said last week that an Iran-related threat prompted the withdrawal of the aircraft.
US officials said there was a suspected plot involving Iran to launch a drone attack.
The suspected plot came to light when five Britons were arrested in the early hours of September 27 after being spotted near the base in three vans, on suspicion of terrorism and explosives-related offenses.
They were later released on "strictly conditioned" bail without charge.
British police stated that they found petrol in the vans but no usable explosives, and investigators said they were examining the possibility of foreign state involvement in the incident.
Two other men, including a dual British-Iranian national, were also arrested before being released.
Iran rejected any suggestion of involvement in the Fairford incident, calling it "baseless and malicious speculation."
British authorities have accused Iran of involvement in numerous plots within Britain.
In July, Britain used new powers to curb the use of state-sponsored proxies, banning any support for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and an associated group accused of being behind attacks targeting Jewish, Israeli, and Persian-language media sites in the country.
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