Azernews.Az

Akbar Novruz

Read more

A dual British-Azerbaijani citizen has been arrested in Cyprus on suspicion of spying on a British military base and allegedly passing information to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), UK authorities said on Friday, AzerNEWS reports.

Rashad Sultanov, 44, from Islington, north London, was detained by Cypriot authorities on July 17 and remains in custody as extradition proceedings continue, according to a statement from London’s Metropolitan Police.

The arrest is part of the first overseas investigation conducted under Britain’s National Security Act, led by counter-terrorism police over alleged hostile activity targeting the UK’s RAF Akrotiri base in Cyprus between May 11 and June 22 last year.

British authorities allege that Sultanov carried out surveillance of the military facility and later shared information with the IRGC.

“This case shows we are able to use the National Security Act overseas when British military bases are allegedly targeted by hostile state activity,” Helen Flanagan, head of counter-terrorism policing in London, said.

The investigation comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and Western countries, particularly following threats by the IRGC against British military facilities that could be used by US forces.

Earlier this month, the IRGC warned that British bases involved in operations against Iran could become targets. The warning followed a series of attacks and counterattacks in the region, including a March drone strike that caused minor damage at RAF Akrotiri.

Britain later stated that the base would not be included in its defensive arrangements with the United States regarding the use of UK facilities.

RAF Akrotiri is one of two sovereign British military bases retained in Cyprus after the island gained independence from Britain in 1960. The facility has previously supported UK military operations in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.