RAF Fairford B-1 bombers reportedly withdrawn amid suspected plot inquiry

The RAF Fairford B-1 bombers withdrawal was reported by CNBC, citing an Associated Press account and an unnamed Pentagon official, after British authorities opened an investigation into a suspected plot near the English base. Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre, or UKMTO, reported two tanker incidents near Oman and in the Strait of Hormuz, without identifying who was responsible.

CNBC said the U.S. Air Force had moved all B-1 bombers stationed at RAF Fairford back to their home bases in the United States. The report concerned B-1 aircraft, rather than every type of U.S. bomber or aircraft operating from the base.

RAF Fairford, in Gloucestershire, has been used by U.S. forces for strikes against Iranian missile sites under British authorisation, Reuters reported. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said in July that bases used to launch attacks against Iran would be legitimate targets, according to Reuters.

Why were B-1 bombers reportedly withdrawn from RAF Fairford?

The reported redeployment followed a Sept. 27 police operation near the base. Reuters reported that officers received a tip-off about three vehicles apparently travelling towards RAF Fairford and arrested five men on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act.

Counter-terrorism police said at the time that the inquiry was at an early stage and that they were working to establish the circumstances. Police set a 400-metre cordon around the vehicles while bomb-disposal personnel examined them, and about 85 nearby households were evacuated, Reuters reported.

Police had not publicly identified those involved or established a motive. Reuters said an Iranian-linked motive was considered a leading possibility by a source familiar with the investigation, while Russian sabotage and an Islamist plot were also being examined. NPR likewise reported that a possible Iran connection was one of several lines of inquiry. CNBC later reported that British authorities linked the alleged plot to Tehran and that Iran denied involvement.

There is a difference in the reported number of people detained. The initial reporting from Reuters, AP and NPR described five arrests near Fairford. CNBC's later account said six people were taken into custody and subsequently released on bail. The supplied reporting does not explain the discrepancy.

What did UKMTO report about the tanker strikes?

UKMTO said it received a report on Saturday that a crude-oil tanker had been struck by an unknown projectile four nautical miles east of Oman, according to CNBC. UKMTO said another tanker was reported struck in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, damaging its engine room.

The maritime incidents are separate from the Fairford investigation, and the supplied reporting provides no evidence of an operational connection. It also does not establish responsibility for either strike.

The Strait of Hormuz is a critical oil transit route. CNBC reported that about one-fifth of global oil supplies passed through it before the war described in its report began. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said, through the state-linked Nour News agency, that the strait would not reopen until Iran's conditions for ending the war with the United States were met.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.