The airfield at RAF Mildenhall.© Ben Birchall/PA Wire/ZUMA Press
US aircraft evacuated from second UK base due to Iran threat
Story by Alexander Ward, Shelby Holliday
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/us-aircraft-evacuated-from-second-uk-base-due-to-iran-threat/ar-AA2h6NCM?ocid=BingNewsSerp
The U.S. evacuated American aircraft from a Royal Air Force base in England on Monday in the wake of a threat from Iran, according to people familiar with the matter.
The precise nature of the threat to RAF Mildenhall—whether imminent or more general—remains under discussion among U.S. officials, the people said.
Two U.S. refueling tankers that were using Mildenhall diverted to Germany earlier in the morning, while several other tankers at the base were moved to Germany and other locations later in the day, according to flight-tracking data and another official familiar with the matter.
A U.S. Air Force spokesperson declined to provide details about the movement of assets but said in a statement that U.S. aircraft rotate between installations and operating locations for a variety of reasons. The White House referred a request for comment to the Pentagon.
The movement comes after the Pentagon last month sent B-1 bomber aircraft back to the U.S. from another base in England, RAF Fairford, as officials grew concerned about a complex Iran-backed plot to kill American pilots and target the aircraft using drones and other measures, the Journal has reported.
Tehran has said its retaliation for any U.S. attack on Iran would expand beyond the Middle East. The “Gang of Eight”—the top congressional political and intelligence leaders—received a briefing Monday about Iran’s threats, a person familiar with the meeting said.
Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton said in October that Iran was in “advanced stages” of planning to target U.S. personnel in the Middle East, explaining the rationale for a sudden evacuation of diplomats from regional posts.
Asked about that concern Monday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, “We’ve addressed it by moving people away from the threat.”
The U.S. upgraded the security posture at RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath, both used by the U.S. military, to FPCON Charlie, which occurs when intelligence indicates that a form of terrorist action is likely, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter. The security changes were earlier reported by the War Zone, a military news site.
The threat comes as President Trump weighs moving forward with additional strikes on Iran, and amid a movement to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the Iran war. Hegseth has defended the war and vowed to fight the impeachment effort.
Trump on Monday posted on social media that a return to war with Iran was “unlikely” and later told reporters at the White House, “At this point, taking military action doesn’t seem to be a very necessary thing.”
Trump cited progress in negotiations with Iran and the preference of Middle Eastern allies for a continuation of the blockade on Iranian trade, not an escalated confrontation. “Should there be any change with respect to developments in the Middle East, the United States of America is ‘locked and loaded’ and ready to go,” Trump wrote.
US aircraft evacuated from second UK base due to Iran threat, WSJ reports
US aircraft evacuated from second UK base due to Iran threat, WSJ reports
By Reuters November 10, 2026
Nov 10 (Reuters) - The US military evacuated aircraft from a second airbase in Britain on Monday after a threat from Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter, weeks after the US withdrew its bombers from RAF Fairford airbase over a suspected Iran-linked security incident.
Two US refueling tankers that were using the RAF Mildenhall military base diverted to Germany earlier on Monday, while several other tankers at the base were moved to Germany and other locations later in the day, the WSJ report said.
According to the Journal, the precise nature of the threat to RAF Mildenhall remains under discussion among US officials.
“We do not routinely comment on the activity of other nations. Aircraft and other assets move regularly according to operational requirements,” a British ministry of defense spokesperson said.
The Pentagon and the US European Command did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment sent outside regular business hours.
Five men were arrested outside RAF Fairford airbase in southwest England in September over a security incident with two others arrested later on suspicion of assisting Iranian intelligence.
The circumstances of the incident, which remain largely unexplained, attracted huge international attention, coming at a time of heightened concern about the security implications for Western states of the war between the United States and Iran, and prompted the US to remove its B-1 bombers from the Fairford airbase on security grounds.
RAF Fairford had been used by US bombers to carry out strikes on Iran.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said last month that the activity at RAF Fairford was likely to have been coordinated in Iran, which Tehran's ambassador to Britain has denied.
Reporting by Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru; Editing by Stephen Coates
RAF Mildenhall is mostly used by the US air force and has the only permanent US air refuelling wing in Europe Source: Reuters
