The U.S. evacuated American aircraft from an air base in England on Monday in the wake of a threat from Iran, according to people familiar with the matter.
The precise nature of the threat to RAF Mildenhall—whether imminent or more general—remains under discussion among U.S. officials, the people said.
Two U.S. refueling tankers that were using Mildenhall diverted to Germany earlier in the morning, while several other tankers at the base were moved to Germany and other locations later in the day, according to flight-tracking data and another official familiar with the matter.
A U.S. Air Force spokesperson declined to provide details about the movement of assets but said in a statement that U.S. aircraft rotate between installations and operating locations for a variety of reasons. The White House referred a request for comment to the Pentagon.
The movement comes after the Pentagon last month sent B-1 bomber aircraft back to the U.S. from another British base, RAF Fairford, as officials grew concerned about a complex Iran-backed plot to kill American pilots and target the aircraft using drones and other measures, the Journal has reported.
Tehran has said its retaliation for any American attack on Iran would expand beyond the Middle East. The “Gang of Eight”—the top congressional political and intelligence leaders—received a briefing Monday about Iran’s threats to the homeland, a person familiar with the meeting said.
Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton said in October that Iran was in “advanced stages” of planning to target U.S. personnel in the Middle East, explaining the rationale for a sudden evacuation of diplomats from regional posts.
Asked about that concern Monday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, “We’ve addressed it by moving people away from the threat.”
The U.S. upgraded the security posture at RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath, both used by the U.S. military, to FPCON Charlie, which occurs when intelligence indicates that a form of terrorist action is likely, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter. The security changes were earlier reported by the War Zone.
The threat comes as President Trump weighs moving forward with additional strikes on Iran, and amid a movement to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the Iran war. Hegseth has defended the war and vowed to fight the impeachment effort.
Trump on Monday posted on social media that a return to war with Iran was “unlikely” and later told reporters at the White House, “At this point, taking military action doesn’t seem to be a very necessary thing.”
Trump cited progress in negotiations with Iran and the preference of Middle Eastern allies for a continuation of the blockade on Iranian trade, not an escalated confrontation. “Should there be any change with respect to developments in the Middle East, the United States of America is ‘locked and loaded’ and ready to go,” Trump wrote.
Write to Shelby Holliday at shelby.holliday@wsj.com and Alexander Ward at alex.ward@wsj.com
