By DAVID WILCOCK, DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR
Published: | Updated:
Iran's hardline Islamist regime is 'highly likely' to have been behind a security incident at RAF Fairford, Andy Burnham said today as he vowed to hit Tehran with more sanctions.
The Prime Minister said the UK 'will not tolerate these threats on our soil' as he faced MPs for the first time since a wave of arrests connected to the military site in Gloucestershire.
Seven people have so far been arrested and bailed after three suspicious vans were stopped on September 27 near the site used by the United States Air Force to carry out missions in the Middle East.
The US last week pulled its B1 bombers back to bases in America with Donald Trump citing a threat linked to Iran.
This afternoon the US, UK and other allies condemned Iran's attacks against them and vowed to take action against anyone acting on behalf of Tehran.
The Iranian ambassador to Britain was also summoned to the Foreign Office for a dressing down and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced that two Iranian nationals have been designated for their role in hostile activity on behalf of the Iranian regime.
Ruhollah Bazghandi, head of counterespionage operations within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and Shahram Ali Reza Tamarzadeh Jakki, a facilitator of the Zindashti criminal network, are now subject to an immediate asset freeze, travel ban and director disqualification, he said.
The Prime Minister told MPs that the UK 'will not tolerate these threats on our soil' as he faced MPs for the first time since a wave of arrests at the military site in Gloucestershire.
Seven people have so far been arrested and bailed after three suspicious vans were stopped on September 27 near the site used by the United States Air Force
Giving a statement about the incident in the Commons this afternoon, Mr Burnham told MPs: 'I can confirm our assessment that it is highly likely to have been coordinated in Iran, almost certainly directed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard.
'We will not tolerate these threats on our soil.
'We will crack down on Iran's use of criminal networks, using our full range of powers to target them and their funding streams, and we will bring further sanctions to restrict the capacity of Iran and the IRGC to do us harm.'
Five of the suspects, all British nationals in their 20s, were arrested on September 27.
No explosive materials were found in the vans but a quantity of petrol was seized, police said, and four days later a sixth man, a dual UK-Iranian national, was arrested before a seventh was held last week.
Iran has rejected any suggestion it was involved, saying it amounted to 'unfounded and malicious speculations'.
The British authorities have accused Iran of being involved in numerous plots in Britain.
Mr Burnham came under fire from Kemi Badenoch over a decision by Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband to shake hands with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, at the United Nations
In July, Britain used new powers designed to stop the use of state-sponsored proxies to ban support for the IRGC and a linked group accused of being behind attacks at locations linked to Jewish and Israeli communities, and Persian-language media.
But Mr Burnham came under fire from Tory leader Kemi Badenoch over a decision by Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband to shake hands with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, at the United Nations.
And after his statement, Lord Walney, chairman of the APPG for Defending Democracy said Iran should be considered 'a hostile regime that is implacably imposed to British interests'.
'It was a grave mistake for Ed Miliband to have shaken the hand of the Iranian foreign minister last month, when there was already ample evidence of Iranian-linked incidents on British streets,' he added.
'Andy Burnham must make clear to his Foreign Secretary that the security of the British people is not served by giving the stamp of legitimacy to this terror exporting Islamist regime.'