'Strong indications' Iran involved in RAF Fairford incident: UK's Burnham

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Wednesday there were “strong indications” Iran was involved in suspicious activity at RAF Fairford that triggered a major security incident over the weekend.“There are strong indications that Iran played a part in what happened over the weekend at RAF Fairford,” Burnham told theBBC, referring to Sunday's bomb scare near the airbase in southwest England.“It remains an ongoing, complex, and serious police investigation,” he said.Iran's embassy in London has categorically rejected speculation that Tehran was involved.

Police said on Tuesday that no explosives had been found at the scene.The nature of the threat has not been disclosed.

Three white vans were reported travelling towards the base early on Sunday, while a local resident told police she saw masked men near the vehicles blocking a road in a nearby village.Investigation raises questionsUK police released on bail five British men arrested on suspicion of explosives and terrorism offences after three days of investigations, including work by a bomb disposal team.Police said they found no explosives in the vehicles but recovered a “quantity of petrol”.The Timeslater reported that one of the suspects had alerted police before the group was arrested.US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio had previously said intelligence agencies were aware of the suspects and indicated that a foreign state could be involved.“We have been waiting to confirm what we could say, but we can now confirm our belief that Iran played a part,” Burnham toldSky News.The incident comes amid tensions over RAF Fairford, which Britain has allowed the US military to use for strikes against Iran.

Tehran has previously warned London against allowing its military bases to be used by Washington.