Iran denies ties to RAF Fairford bomb plot

IRAN has “categorically” rejected any involvement in the suspected RAF Fairford bomb plot, its London embassy said in a statement today. Prime Minister Andy Burnham was expected to chair a Cobra meeting this afternoon, telling LBC that he wanted to get the “full picture” on what had happened at the base used by US air forces in Gloucestershire. Five people were arrested on Sunday on suspicion of explosive and terror offences. They have all been released on police bail with “stringent conditions on their movement and contact with others.” The Counter-Terrorism Police said they are all British nationals aged in their twenties from London, and that multiple lines of inquiry have emerged after investigators worked the scene. On Sunday, US President Donald Trump told reporters the suspects were looking to “do big damage,” and claimed that the suspects had been under surveillance. The police operation was not intelligence-led, meaning investigators had not known about any potential plot in advance. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband declined to comment on Mr Trump’s claims. Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said Britain must not be “cowed by sabre-rattling from Iran” or allow the country to “dictate our foreign policy” while stressing it was “too early to attribute background aims.” Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans said she was aware of the “levels of speculation about the motivation” and the “geopolitical questions” being raised. But she added: “However, I ask that at this time, Counter Terrorism Policing are given the space to work carefully and clearly.” The Iranian embassy in London said it “categorically rejects and strongly condemns the recent unfounded and malicious speculations published by some British individuals and media outlets attempting to link Iran” to the suspects. “The circulation of such fabricated speculations, particularly in the aftermath of the criminal acts of aggression committed by the United States and the Israeli regime against the Iranian people, will serve no purpose other than to fuel Iranophobia propaganda in the UK,” it said. Peace activists and trade unionists to gather at RAF Fairford to protest against US bombers taking off from Britain to strike Iran