B-1 Lancer
Britain has insisted its armed forces are ready to defend the UK at home and abroad Bernie Condon/Flickr

Iran has declared British military bases, including RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, to be 'legitimate targets' after US B‑1 bomber strikes were launched from UK soil this week, prompting Britain to insist its armed forces are ready to defend the country at home and abroad.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps escalated the rhetoric by explicitly naming RAF Fairford, where US B‑1 Lancer bombers are based, accusing Washington of 'resorting to using B‑1 aircraft flying from Fairford airbase in England' after depleting missile stockpiles.

Flight‑tracking websites on Tuesday night recorded a B‑1 bomber leaving RAF Fairford and heading towards Iranian airspace.

The IRGC said 'any base used for aggression against Iranian territory is a legitimate target for us', while foreign minister Abbas Araghchi warned that those who 'contribute to such aggression, whatever the kind of support, will also be considered as legitimate targets,' promising retaliation on an 'eye for an eye' basis.

UK Recommits to US Access Amid Rising Threats

Tensions flared after new Prime Minister Andy Burnham confirmed that Britain had recommitted to an existing agreement allowing the United States to fly missions from UK bases, in what the government describes as collective self‑defence covering operations to degrade missile sites used in attacks on shipping around the Strait of Hormuz.

Burnham has continued the policy direction of his predecessor Sir Keir Starmer, who had initially refused such access before shifting under allied pressure; Burnham has moved faster, and Iran has clearly noticed.

A UK government spokesperson said on Thursday: 'Our Armed Forces are ready to keep the United Kingdom safe from any kind of attacks, whether it is on our soil or from abroad. The UK stands ready 24/7 to defend itself.'

Officials stressed Britain operates a 'layered' air and missile defence involving Royal Navy vessels, British Army units and RAF assets integrated with NATO allies, while insisting the UK is 'not getting drawn into the wider conflict'.

Intensifying US Military Campaign

The warnings from Tehran come against the backdrop of an increasingly aggressive US campaign.

President Donald Trump has ordered strikes on Iran for 12 consecutive nights, according to US officials, and has deployed additional F‑35 and F‑16 fighter jets alongside refuelling tankers moved into Israel.

On Thursday he told Axios he was considering a 'massive attack, bigger than ever before,' adding, 'We are all set for it.'

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Iran war had already cost at least 37.5 billion dollars, warning of 'critical shortfalls' without emergency funding from Congress. More than 150 medics have been sent to Landstuhl Regional Medical Centre in Germany after four American soldiers were killed.

Iranian state media reported a missile strike on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, while a US strike on the Shalamech border crossing the previous evening killed two people and wounded 11, according to Iranian authorities.

Documented Iranian Plots on UK Soil

The threat to the UK is not purely hypothetical. Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee reported in 2025 that Tehran had tried to kill or kidnap at least 15 individuals in Britain and had attempted terrorist attacks on UK soil, including one plot foiled just hours before launch in May last year, warning of a 'wide‑ranging, persistent and unpredictable threat.'

Security at British air bases has already proven vulnerable. Activists from Palestine Action broke into RAF Brize Norton last year and vandalised two military aircraft, with parts of the perimeter reportedly secured only by a 6ft wooden fence.

A later investigation found similarly weak security at several other RAF sites.

Houthi rebel attacks on shipping near the Bab‑el‑Mandab Strait, widely linked by Western governments to Iran, have pushed oil prices back above 100 dollars a barrel for the first time since May, with Trump threatening to hold Tehran responsible for any further assaults by its proxies.

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