Updated

Britain formally accused Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps of being 'almost certainly' behind a suspected plot targeting RAF Fairford, an airbase used by US forces, prompting the UK to summon Iran's ambassador, sanction two Iranian nationals, and vow a crackdown on Iranian criminal networks. MI5 chief Ken McCallum and Prime Minister-level officials (via Andy Burnham) described growing Iranian threats to UK military sites, placing Iran alongside Russia as a top state-based security concern. Iran strongly denied involvement, calling the accusations 'baseless' and an 'ugly conspiracy,' with its London ambassador rejecting the claims and Tehran threatening to reconsider diplomatic ties with Britain, suggesting the incident could be a 'false flag.' The episode has fueled broader debate in Britain about the scale of the Iranian threat domestically, including a separate court case in which a man was accused of plotting an attack on Iran International journalists in the UK. Commentators noted the incident, though ambiguous, reflects a deliberate Iranian effort to project the ability to strike inside the UK in retaliation for the war with the US and Israel.