Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed the recent attempted terrorist attack near a United Kingdom military base used by the United States during his appearance on ‘Hannity’ on Fox News. Rubio confirmed the incident involved a foreign actor, stressing its significance as a global threat potentially linked to adversaries like Iran.
Rubio remarked, “What happened, what almost happened, what could have happened in the U.K. over the weekend is a very serious situation. It’s one that clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor.” However, he refrained from providing detailed information concerning the matter.
Rubio expressed concern over NATO’s effectiveness, highlighting allies blocking U.S. access to bases during the Iran conflict.
Emphasizing the seriousness of threats to U.S. interests, Rubio stated there would be repercussions for any such threats. He also thanked the United Kingdom for their cooperation in preventing a “very serious threat” of an attack.
President Donald Trump weighed in, suggesting potential connections to Iran, asserting he would not have released the suspects on bail. British police arrested five individuals at RAF Fairford base in western England early Sunday, declaring a major incident. They were released on bail Monday with an ongoing investigation into possible foreign state involvement.
Reports indicated no viable explosives were found in the vans. Despite this, security had been heightened at the base, pointing to intelligence about a targeted threat. The five arrested individuals are British nationals from London, detained after a local farmer alerted police about suspicious vans parked near the base.
Heightened security at the base led to local evacuations, but residents have begun returning home. The threat posed by hostile actors like Iran and Russia remains a concern, with Britain raising its national terrorism threat level in April due to incidents in north London and imposing sanctions on entities linked to Iran.
Britain continues to combat destabilizing activities from Iran and other hostile actors. Iran denies involvement in such plots, including the Fairford incident.
Eric Mack, a breaking news reporter for Fox News, contributed to this report.