https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/10/01/netanyahu-israel-warned-uk-terror-plot-raf/
Netanyahu: We warned UK about terror plot before RAF incident
Israel warned British authorities about an Iranian-sponsored attack weeks before the incident at RAF Fairford, Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed.
The Israeli prime minister said the alert was issued shortly before Ed Miliband’s “absurd” announcement of sanctions on his country, delivered on Sept 8.
Questioned on the “recent scare” at RAF Fairford by Fox News, the US broadcaster, Mr Netanyahu said: “You talked about the thing in Britain. Do you want to hear how absurd things are there? And how far the anti-Israeli propaganda has gone?
“We gave the Brits the intel, that there was going to be an attack, and it’s an Iranian-sponsored attack, and pretty much the next day they slap sanctions on us.
“It’s wild, the caving in, the collapse before the Islamist-Marxist alliance is very dangerous for the future of the West.”
Mr Netanyahu did not specify whether his warning was a general one or specific to the incident at Fairford on Sunday morning.
Five British nationals were arrested on suspicion of plotting a terror attack. They were bailed less than 36 hours later.
In a statement after bail was announced, Asst Commissioner Laurence Taylor, the UK’s head of national counter-terrorism policing, said: “Be assured, we are considering this from every possible angle. This may be activity committed by proxies, or individuals either knowingly or unknowingly, working on behalf of a foreign state.”
It suggests investigators are open to the possibility of the suspects being recruited to carry out the alleged attack by a foreign state in exchange for money.
The technique has been pioneered by Iran, Russia and other states in the past decade, and generally targets individuals in need of money.
Andy Burnham said on Wednesday that “we can now confirm our belief that Iran played a part”, but would not divulge any other information on the investigation.
However, Mr Netanyahu’s comments were a step further than any information offered by police, who have not yet linked Iran to the incident.
Iran has denied involvement in Sunday morning’s events, in which three suspicious vans were parked 400m from the base, previously identified by Tehran as a “legitimate target” because it is used by the US for its strikes in the Middle East.
Former counter-terrorism police officers have since speculated that the incident was a “hostile reconnaissance operation” intended as a “dry run” of a more sinister attack.
One officer told The Telegraph: “That might explain why the police do not appear to have found anything such as explosives in the vehicles.”
Donald Trump criticised the prompt release of the suspects on Monday, saying: “I’m surprised that they released them. I wouldn’t have done that.”
Referring to the British authorities, he said: “Look, they’ve been very good. They worked with us very closely.”
But he added of the suspects: “We know everything about them. We would not have released them... I would not have released them.”
The Home Office and Foreign Office were both approached for comment.