On Sunday, Oct. 4, every American B-1 bomber at RAF Fairford lifted off and flew home. Twelve aircraft, the backbone of the only forward bomber base available to Washington in Europe, left within hours. No ceremony marked the departure. U.S. European Command confirmed only that “all U.S. bombers that were deployed to R.A.F. Fairford are redeploying to their home stations in the United States.” The reason traced back eight days to a Sunday morning when five British men were arrested near the base’s perimeter, three white vans were found suspicious enough to trigger a bomb-disposal response, and 85 homes were evacuated.

Iran did not fire a shot. It did not need to.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the BBC on Sept. 30 that “there are strong indications that Iran played a part in what happened over the weekend at RAF Fairford, but of course it remains an ongoing, complex and serious police investigation.” He would not elaborate, saying he would “say more in due course.” Iran’s response was immediate and furious. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi mocked Burnham directly on X, paraphrasing him sarcastically: “PM Burnham says the UK Government ‘can confirm our belief that we believe Iran to have played a part’ in the RAF Fairford incident.” Iran’s embassy in London went further, saying it “categorically rejects and strongly condemns the recent unfounded and malicious speculations” linking Tehran to the five suspects, who were released on bail without charge.

The episode was not without precedent. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard had named Fairford directly in July, declaring that any British base used to strike Iranian territory would be considered “a legitimate target.”

The episode was not without precedent. Iran’s........

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