It was almost certainly a fresh piece of intelligence, whether true or not.
British officials would not reveal what it was, but they did say “there is an ongoing high tempo of threat from Iran to the UK, and it is logical that US airbases would be pretty high on any targeting list”.
Iran has denied any connection with events at RAF Fairford. The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also played down any suggested link between this rushed evacuation and the arrests made on 27 September.
The context here is that while the UK is not at war with Iran, the US is – and that is a distinction Tehran has publicly challenged. As far as the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps is concerned, Britain is already a participant in America’s war with Iran.
There is also a cost factor involved here.
The B-1 Lancer bombers which have now left each cost about $330 million.
The Americans have already suffered heavy financial losses from Iranian strikes on US bases in the Middle East.
In late March the Iranians hit Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, destroying an E-3 Sentry AWACS early warning plane.
That aircraft alone cost over half a billion dollars.
General Sir Richard Barrons, who served in one of the highest ranks in the British Armed Forces, said: “We now live in a world where a £1,000 drone could wreck one of those aircraft.
“So, I don’t know what the threat was but the most prudent thing to do would be to remove them to Texas given that they were not doing very much at the minute”