US officials moved dozens of B‑1 bombers from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire after concerns that Iran might launch a complex drone attack on the base, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing American and European officials. The relocation followed the arrest of six London men last week over a suspected terror plot targeting the site, which has housed US bombers that carried out strikes on Iran.
President Donald Trump said the move was not accidental and that the bombers were repositioned because of a real threat. He declined to confirm whether Iran had launched a drone at Britain, adding that any such attack would result in devastating losses. Trump also defended the costs of the Iran war, calling it a small price to pay for preventing a greater threat and suggesting that the conflict is essentially almost over.
United Nations Secretary‑General António Guterres arrived in Islamabad for a three‑day visit aimed at discussing Pakistan’s role in mediating between Iran and the United States. The UN said the talks would focus on Islamabad’s diplomatic efforts to support negotiations, with the Pakistani foreign ministry confirming Guterres’s arrival and meeting with acting foreign secretary Nabeel Munir.
Iran‑backed Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed they targeted Saudi Arabia’s King Khalid International Airport, an Aramco refinery in Rabigh, and several southern sites with drones, ballistic and cruise missiles. Meanwhile, the UK Maritime Trade Operations reported a tanker struck by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz, damaging its engine room; the crew was safe but the source of the attack remains unknown. A top Revolutionary Guards commander asserted that US forces had retreated 1,000 km from Iran’s borders, noting the absence of US vessels in the Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, Sea of Oman and the northern Indian Ocean. Gas and diesel prices in the United States rose sharply, with average monthly costs increasing by $66.86 for gasoline and $139.32 for diesel. In Iran, two men arrested over January protests were executed after the Supreme Court upheld their death sentences. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington remains confident in the security of its bases, despite recent arrests near a British air base.
