'They didn't fly out by accident': Trump says 'threat' forced US to pull bombers from RAF Fairford

Washington, Oct 5 — US President Donald Trump has said that a "threat" forced the United States to pull its bombers from RAF Fairford in England, after the Pentagon confirmed on Sunday that every American bomber deployed at the Gloucestershire base had been flown back to the United States. "They didn't fly out by accident," Trump told reporters outside the White House. "There were some threats. And rather than tempting the enemy, we'll capture the enemy and beat the enemy... We actually know the people who made the threat." A Pentagon official confirmed that all bombers stationed at Fairford — including B-1s, B-2s and B-52s, at least a dozen B-1s — had redeployed to their home stations. The aircraft had been used extensively for American strikes on Iran since the war began in February, and Fairford's shorter flight distance had made it the Pentagon's preferred launch point, cutting the time and cost of each strike. The withdrawal follows a suspected terror plot against the base. On September 27, British police arrested five men in their mid-20s near the base on suspicion of explosives offences and terrorism after spotting suspicious white vans; officers found petrol but no explosives. All five were released on bail. A sixth person, a dual British-Iranian national, was arrested on October 1 on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts and was also released on bail. All six remain under investigation, which police have described as "hugely complex". British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on September 30 that there were "strong indications" Iran played a part in the incident. Iran denied the accusation and summoned the British ambassador in Tehran over the matter. Trump had earlier criticised Britain for releasing the suspects on bail. "I'm surprised that they released them," he said at the White House on September 28. "I wouldn't have done that." The administration is not speaking with one voice about the withdrawal. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the move was not directly connected to the arrests: "The Department of War is constantly reallocating resources where they need to be. There are regular rotations that happen as well." Vice-President JD Vance, meanwhile, said the decision was taken "out of an abundance of caution" to "protect our guys", adding that Washington felt "with some confidence" that Iran was behind the plot. The pullout strips the United States of its main forward bomber base in Europe for the Iran campaign — at the very moment Trump is weighing fresh military options against Tehran, after saying at the weekend that it would be "either the easy way, or the hard way". An empty Fairford is both a security decision and a signal: of how far a war that was supposed to last weeks has come home to Europe.