The Pentagon confirmed on Sunday that the United States has removed all B-1 bomber aircraft from Royal Air Force Fairford in Gloucestershire, England. A senior Pentagon official stated that every bomber deployed to the base has been repositioned to its home station in the United States. The official added that operational security limited the ability to verify the movement of assets in real time.

The withdrawal follows an incident last Sunday when local police responded to reports from a farmer in the nearby village of Whelford. The farmer described three vans parked on a road and a group of masked individuals fleeing the scene. Aerial images showed the vans contained barrels and bore a counterfeit logo resembling a diesel delivery company. Police later recovered a quantity of petrol from the vehicles but found no explosives, according to Lawrence Taylor, head of National Counter Terrorism Policing.

The scare prompted the evacuation of 85 households near the airbase. RAF Fairford, the only U.S.-operated bomber base on British soil, had recently hosted U.S. aircraft conducting defensive missions over Iran. British authorities had granted Washington permission in March to use the site for such operations. The incident sparked speculation about possible motives, including terrorism or fuel theft, amid record-high energy prices in the UK.

Five British nationals of Iranian descent, aged in their mid-20s, were arrested in connection with the incident. All were released on bail, a move criticized by U.S. President Donald Trump, who said he would not have done the same. Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested a foreign actor might have been involved. Iran’s embassy in London denied any participation, calling the speculation baseless.

No formal attribution has been made regarding responsibility for the incident. Investigations remain ongoing, and authorities have not released further details about the individuals or groups involved.