US military aircraft have been moved to Prestwick Airport from a Royal Air Force base in England following a reported threat from Iran.
Nine tankers and three Ospreys left RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk on the afternoon and evening of the day before the report, according to flight tracking data.
Where the aircraft have been moved
The tankers are all Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers. One is now at RAF Prestwick, while the rest have been moved to airbases in Spain and Germany. The three Ospreys have moved to RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk.
The Wall Street Journal reports the move was in response to a threat from Iran. The nature of the threat is under discussion among US officials, sources said, and it is not yet clear whether the threat is imminent or more general.
Security posture raised
The development comes weeks after the US withdrew its bombers from RAF Fairford following a suspected Iran-related terror incident near the airbase.
The US raised the security posture at RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath to FPCON Charlie, the third-highest level in the Department of Defense's Force Protection Condition system. It applies when intelligence points to a form of terrorist action that is likely, a US official told WSJ.
Official responses
Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton said in October that Iran was in "advanced stages" of planning to target US personnel in the Middle East, which explained a sudden evacuation of diplomats from regional posts.
Asked about that concern on Monday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said: "We've addressed it by moving people away from the threat."
Congressional leaders known as the "Gang of Eight" received a briefing on Iran's threats on Monday, a person familiar with the meeting said.
On Monday, President Trump said the US was "seeing positive momentum toward an end" to the conflict with Iran. He wrote on Truth Social: "I had an excellent conversation with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, the Prime Minister of Qatar, wherein much was discussed with respect to the Islamic Republic of Iran."
Cabinet minister Lucy Powell said the security of military bases in the UK was kept under review. The Education Secretary told Sky News: "I can't comment on those sort of live operations [but] we're constantly keeping the security of our bases under review and... we take firm and quick action where we need to."
