US shifts military aircraft from 2nd UK base over Iran threat: Reports

The United States has withdrawn military aircraft from a second British air base after an alleged threat from Iran, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Several American refueling tankers evacuated Monday from RAF Mildenhall in eastern England after a purported threat, the newspaper reported.

Sky News reported Tuesday that 12 aircraft – nine tankers and three Osprey transporters – left Mildenhall Monday, according to flight tracking sources.

The Journal reported the precise nature of the Iranian threat remained under discussion among U.S. officials.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for .

A spokesperson for Britain's Defense Ministry said: "We do not routinely on the activity of other nations. Aircraft and other assets move regularly according to operational requirements."

The evacuations came just weeks after the U.S. withdrew B-1 bombers from another U.K. base, RAF Fairford, due to what President Donald Trump said were unspecified threats linked to Iran.

The withdrawal followed a security incident at the base in southwest England in September, which the British prime minister has said Iran's Revolutionary Guard "almost certainly directed."

Counterterrorism police last month charged two of seven people arrested, including a British-Iranian national, with national security offenses linked to the alleged plot to target the base.

Trump said Monday that Washington was "seeing positive momentum toward an end" to the conflict with Iran, which escalated after he ordered strikes on the country in late February this year alongside Israel.

RAF Mildenhall hosts the U.S. Air Force's 100th Air Refueling Wing, which includes Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers, Commando II and Osprey aircraft.

The Journal reported two withdrawn tankers diverted to Germany, while several others from the base also moved to Germany and other locations later Monday.

The 100th Air Refueling Wing did not immediately respond to Agence France-Presse (AFP)'s request for .

British lawmaker Lucy Powell said security at military bases was under constant review.

"I can't on that sort of live operation," she told Sky News. "As we've seen with other cases recently, we take firm and quick action where we need to."