The Media Line: Rubio: ‘Foreign Actor’ Clearly Involved in Suspected RAF Fairford Bomb Plot  

Rubio: ‘Foreign Actor’ Clearly Involved in Suspected RAF Fairford Bomb Plot  

By The Media Line Staff  

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday night that a foreign party was clearly involved in a suspected bomb plot targeting RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, England, describing the incident at the US military airbase as a “very serious threat.”  

US forces have conducted operations against Iran from the RAF Fairford base.  

Rubio told Fox News that he could not disclose details about the investigation but said the incident “clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor.”  

“What happened, what almost happened, what could have happened in the UK over the weekend is a very serious situation,” Rubio said.  

Five British men in their 20s from London were arrested near RAF Fairford on suspicion of terrorism and explosives offenses. Counterterrorism police later released all five on bail under stringent conditions while continuing their investigation.  

AC Laurence Taylor, head of UK counterterrorism policing, has said investigators are examining several possibilities, including whether proxies acting for a foreign state were involved.  

US President Donald Trump told reporters that the suspects “might be” connected to Iran. Rubio also pointed to threats from Tehran against American interests but stopped short of directly accusing Iran of involvement.  

“We are dealing with elements in the world–and in the case of Iran, for example, who have openly threatened to attack American interests globally,” Rubio said. “We’re going to always take that very seriously; there will be repercussions for that if it ever were to happen or even attempted.”  

The Iranian Embassy in London strongly denied any involvement.  

Rubio thanked British authorities for their handling of the investigation, saying they had been “very cooperative and very helpful.” He also acknowledged concerns over the suspects being released on bail. Trump expressed surprise over the decision and said he would not have allowed it.  

UK officials and police said bail decisions are operational matters for law enforcement and stressed that the investigation remains active.  

“There’s a lot more news that will come out on this in the days to come,” Rubio said.