US aircraft evacuated from UK's RAF Mildenhall base amid threat from Iran: Report

The US military reportedly evacuated its aircraft from an airbase in the UK on Monday after a threat from Iran. This comes as the two nations are working on a deal to end the war. US officials are still assessing the nature of the threat to airbase Royal Air Force (RAF) Mildenhall.

(REUTERS)US officials are still assessing the nature of the threat to airbase Royal Air Force (RAF) Mildenhall, including whether it is imminent or more general, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Two US refuelling tankers operating out of Mildenhall were diverted to Germany earlier in the morning, while several others stationed at the base were also relocated to the German country and other locations later in the day, flight-tracking data showed and another official familiar with the matter confirmed.

While a US air force official declined to comment, he said that US aircraft rotate between installations and operating locations for a variety of reasons, according to WSJ. The “Gang of Eight”—the top congressional political and intelligence leaders—received a briefing Monday about Iran’s threats to the homeland, a person familiar with the meeting said, the report mentioned.

Asked about that concern on Monday, secretary of state Marco Rubio said, “We’ve addressed it by moving people away from the threat.” This is not the first time the US has withdrawn aircraft from its bases in the UK. Last month, the Pentagon confirmed that all B-1 bombers deployed to Britain's Royal Air Force Fairford had been withdrawn following an investigation into a suspected terror attack at the airbase and reports of a new, unspecified threat.

"We can now acknowledge that all US bombers that were deployed to RAF Fairford have re-deployed to their home stations in the United States,” a Pentagon official said in a statement. Iran has repeatedly warned that any US attack on Tehran could trigger an escalation extending beyond the Middle East.

In a fresh warning on Saturday (November 7), Tehran said Iranian forces were stronger than when the US and Israel started the war in February and would strike American targets without "geographic restrictions" if attacked.

"Today, the Islamic Republic's armed forces... having gained experience from direct confrontation with the United States and the Israeli regime, are on higher alert and are stronger than they were at the beginning of the war.

They now possess greater motivation, commitment, and self-confidence," Iranian Army spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia said. "Under the order of the Supreme Leader, the response of the armed forces will be immediate, effective, and without geographical limitations," he added.

An Axios report last month said US intelligence agencies had detected a "substantial increase" in Iran's attempts to target American diplomats and government officials, both across the Middle East and elsewhere in the world.

According to the report, some of the suspected plots, which could potentially result in loss of life, had reached "advanced stages", raising concerns among US security officials. US President Donald Trump met Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani on Monday, marking a key development in the talks between the US and Iran.

Following the meeting, the US President told reporters he believes the war in Iran “militarily is effectively over." He further suggested that — at least for now — he’s not prepared to resume the bombardment that has devastated Tehran and caused reverberations across the global economy, according to AP.

However, Trump has also continued his aggressive rhetoric against Iran, saying the US was "locked and loaded" to launch another operation. "We're building more weapons right now in our military than we've ever built before.

If we have to do the rest of the Iran thing, we're very much locked and loaded," Trump said on Friday. Speaking to C-SPAN on Tuesday, Trump said Washington would not allow Tehran to develop nuclear weapons.