Trump says 'threat' led US to pull bombers from RAF Fairford

Days after the incident at RAF Fairford, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said there were "strong indications" that Iran had played a part in the incident but he did not provide further details, while Rubio said it had "clearly involve[d] the hands of a foreign actor" without going into further details.Tehran has strongly denied any involvement.In July, Iran said "any base used for aggression against Iranian territory constitutes a legitimate target for our forces".RAF Fairford, near the village of Whelford, has been used as a forward operating location by the US air force for decades.In recent months, the US has flown B-1 and B-52 bombers from the base for the Middle East, after the UK approved a US request to use it for defensive strikes on Iran.The redeployment from RAF Fairford will reduce America's capacity to "quickly surge sorties against Iran, reducing the threat level somewhat", Christoph Bergs, research analyst at defence think tank the Royal United Services Institute told the Reuters news agency.However, the use of the base had already been limited given London's stipulation that it should only be used for defensive strikes, he added. The planes could potentially be sent to either Diego Garcia or bases in the Gulf to reduce the need for air-to-air refuelling but that would depend on capacity availability, negotiations with allies and security, Bergs added.