Netanyahu: London warned of an Iranian plan to target an air base

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he warned Britain of an Iranian plan to attack an air base, criticizing the UK government's insistence on pressuring his government regarding its dealings with the Palestinians.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Wednesday that there were "strong indications" that Iran was involved in suspicious activities that led to a major security incident at a British air base.

Netanyahu explained in an interview with the American Fox News channel that his country informed Britain of intelligence information related to the attack plan shortly before the Bornem government announced on September 8 imposing sanctions on products from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Netanyahu asked conservative broadcaster Sean Hannity, “Do you want to hear how absurd things are there, and how far the anti-Israel propaganda has reached?”

He added, "We provided the British with intelligence that an attack would occur, and that it was an Iranian-backed attack. Almost the next day, they imposed sanctions on us."

For decades, Netanyahu has warned of the threats posed by Iran, but these warnings have always been met with skepticism.

US President Donald Trump had previously spoken of the possibility of an Iranian role in the incident, after a resident reported masked men near pickup trucks heading to Fairford Air Force Base.

Since taking office in late July, Burnham has taken a harder line on Israel, saying his predecessor did not do enough.

Britain imposed sanctions on the settlements amid a wave of violence committed by Israeli settlers in the West Bank against Palestinians.

Violence has escalated in the West Bank since the outbreak of the war in the Gaza Strip, with an escalation in settler attacks that led to the killing of a number of Palestinians and the theft of their property.

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband described the violence, which coincides with Netanyahu's push towards establishing new settlements, as "ethnic cleansing."