Hungary has joined 28 other countries in condemning Iran over a recent incident near a British airbase in Fairford, western England, with the signatories warning Tehran against hostile acts on their territory.
The joint statement, published by the UK Foreign Office on Monday, was signed by Hungary, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and 20 other countries.
The signatories condemned a wider range of hostile activities allegedly carried out by the Iranian regime against the participating countries, including violent attacks, plots to commit murder, cyberattacks, arson, sabotage and other forms of hybrid warfare.
They said it was unacceptable for Iran to attempt to threaten, silence, intimidate, harass, harm or coerce anyone on their territory.
Countries vow to identify and prosecute those responsible
The joint statement warned that anyone carrying out hostile acts on behalf of Iran or any other country should understand that the signatories would work to identify them, investigate their activities and bring criminal proceedings against them.
Iran should have no doubt that the 29 countries are committed to defending their sovereignty, strengthening international coordination in response to hostile actions, improving national resilience and ensuring that those responsible are held accountable, according to the statement released by the UK Foreign Office.
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What happened near the RAF base in Fairford?
The signatories specifically referred to an incident at the Royal Air Force (RAF) base in Fairford two weeks earlier, noting that the British government had concluded that Iran was involved.
On the final Sunday of September, armed police detained five British men near the base in Gloucestershire, western England. The suspects had arrived in three vans in the early hours of the morning.
The vehicles were searched by British Army bomb disposal specialists trained to deal with and remove explosive devices. Although no explosives were found, Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP), which is leading the investigation, said that officers had seized “a quantity of petrol”.
Seven people have so far been detained in connection with the case. Although they have been released under strict conditions, the investigation is continuing.
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Reports suggest Iran may have been planning a drone attack
Unconfirmed intelligence reports published by the British and American media suggested that the Iranian regime may have been preparing a drone attack against the airbase used by the US Air Force in England.
According to these reports, the alleged preparations followed the involvement of US heavy bombers stationed at the base in military operations against Iran launched by the United States and Israel in early February.
Citing a threat that it did not specify in detail, the US Air Force recently withdrew all its strategic bombers from the British base.
Speaking to Parliament on Monday, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the incident was almost certainly the work of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.