President Donald Trump sharply criticized British police on Monday for releasing on bail the five men arrested over a suspected bomb plot near RAF Fairford, the UK air base used by American bombers in the war against Iran.
"I'm surprised that they released them, I wouldn't have done that," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "We know everything about them. We would not have released them."
Asked whether the plot was linked to Iran, Trump said: "It might be." Pressed for details, he added: "I'd rather not. I mean I know the answer, I could be very specific, but I'd rather not say."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio went further in an interview with Fox News on Monday evening, saying the plot "clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor." He did not provide evidence. While thanking British authorities for their handling of the case, Rubio said many people were "disturbed that some of these people have been released on bail."
The five suspects, all British nationals from London in their mid-20s, were released under what UK Counter Terrorism Policing chief Laurence Taylor called "stringent conditions on their movement and contact with others." They were arrested early Sunday after a local farmer spotted three suspicious vans and a group of masked men near the base, prompting the evacuation of 85 homes in the nearby village of Whelford.
RAF Fairford is the only base on mainland Britain used by the US for operations against Iran. Iran's Revolutionary Guards declared in July that any base used to attack Iran was a "legitimate target." The Iranian embassy in London has denied any involvement.
