Five men arrested near a key U.S. bomber base in the U.K. on Sunday may have planned a "complex," coordinated attack with potentially far-reaching security implications for American military installations globally, a former U.S. intelligence official warned. As counterterrorism police investigated after officers detained the suspects near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, a former Pentagon official also said President Donald Trump will ultimately be the one to decide the consequences if indeed the "trail leads to Tehran." The men were initially held on suspicion of offenses under Britain’s Explosives Act before being arrested on terrorism charges in connection with the airfield, a key U.S. Air Force hub and the primary European base for American strategic bombers.
On Sunday, Trump said U.S. authorities had been monitoring the suspects prior to their capture. FORMER UK PRIME MINISTER TONY BLAIR WARNS EUROPE ‘WE DON’T WIN’ IN WAR WITHOUT US SUPPORT "We had them under investigation," Trump told reporters in Chicago. "They were looking to do big damage to our fort." "It may have been Scotland Yard.
We worked with a lot of them. We had them under view for a long time, and we got them," Trump added. According to Sky News, counterterrorism police were investigating whether Iran is linked to the suspected bomb plot.
Former Trump White House official Morgan Murphy told Fox News Digital that British authorities are leading the investigation alongside U.S. law enforcement and intelligence. "Every phone, bank record and rental receipt will be run through British and American intelligence, and if the trail leads to Tehran, it will be found," Murphy clarified. "But as American airmen and bombers seem to have been the target, Air Force investigators on the base, the FBI in London, and American intelligence will likely all work the case." "If conclusive evidence proves Iran is behind an attempted attack on U.S. forces, the American President will ultimately decide how Tehran pays," Murphy added.
BRITAIN INTRODUCES SWEEPING NEW POWERS TO TARGET FOREIGN STATE-LINKED GROUPS INCLUDING IRAN'S IRGC Former Defense Intelligence Agency official Andrew Badger told Fox News Digital the number of suspects and vehicles involved raised the possibility of a sophisticated operation. "We are going to see elevated security protocols across Europe, across the U.K., and across the entire world for any U.S. installation," he said. "This is a very significant threat, and again, seeing that we had five individuals involved and three different reported vans at the scene, this could have been a very complex, highly orchestrated operation," Badger added.
"This isn't just some type of amateur lone wolf operation," he said, noting Fairford’s strategic importance to the U.S. military. "Fairford is also where the U.S. houses its strategic bombers for Europe as well as the rest of the world." He said a potential attack posed broader risks beyond the airfield itself which he said "could have had significant security implications. It could have damaged the nearby area." HOW IRAN ATTACKS ARE FORCING THE PENTAGON TO RETHINK ITS DECADES-OLD MIDDLE EAST BASE STRATEGY "They could have tried to use a VBIED or a vehicle-borne explosive device where the first van could have gone off at the front gate, and then the other vans would have gone in and tried to go for the strategic bombers," Badger said.
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