Iran’s Araghchi Rejects UK’s Fairford Claim: Barking Up the Wrong Tree

By Staff, Agencies

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rejected British Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s claim that Tehran played a part in the incident at RAF Fairford, saying London it is “barking up the wrong tree” and that the release of the suspects “really says it all.”

“I can confirm Iran’s belief that releasing supposed terrorists working for foreign states really says it all,” Araghchi wrote on X.

The top Iranian diplomat further stated: “You’re barking up the wrong tree.”

His post opened by quoting Burnham’s statement that the UK government “can confirm our belief that we believe Iran to have played a part” in the incident.

Burnham said in interviews with British broadcasters on Wednesday that there are “strong indications” Iran played a part in what happened at RAF Fairford over the weekend, adding that the matter remains an ongoing police investigation.

Burnham had chaired a meeting of the government’s emergency Cobra committee after the incident, HuffPost UK reported.

Iran’s embassy in London said on Monday that speculation linking Tehran to the arrests was unfounded and malicious.

Police in Gloucestershire declared a major incident early on Sunday, September 27, after a member of the public reported three vans acting suspiciously near the base.

Five men, all British nationals aged 23 to 25 from the London area, were arrested on suspicion of explosives offenses and later on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act. Army bomb disposal teams examined the vans, and residents of the nearby village of Whelford were evacuated before being allowed to return home on Monday night.

The five were released on bail on Monday, under strict conditions. Laurence Taylor, head of Counter Terrorism Policing, said the release did not mean the investigation was over and that the decision was “grounded in experience and strategy.”

On Tuesday, Taylor said no explosives were found in the vans, only a quantity of petrol.

Police said they were examining possible links to Iran, Russia or non-state armed groups and had not concluded whether a state was behind the incident. Until Burnham’s remarks, Britain had not publicly tied the incident to Iran.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News on Monday that the incident “clearly involved the hands of a foreign actor.”

US President Donald Trump said the suspects “might be” connected to Iran, and that the men had planned “big damage.” He also said he was surprised they were freed.

RAF Fairford has hosted US B-1B and B-52 bombers used in the US-“Israeli” aggression on Iran, which began on February 28.