Key facts
- A 44-year-old dual British and Azerbaijani national was arrested in Cyprus on July 17.
- He is suspected of spying on the British airbase RAF Akrotiri for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
- The arrest is the first overseas investigation conducted by the UK under its National Security Act.
- The suspect allegedly conducted surveillance of the base and shared information with the IRGC.
- Cypriot authorities are holding the individual pending extradition proceedings to the UK.
A 44-year-old dual British and Azerbaijani national, identified as Rashad Sultanov, has been arrested in Cyprus on suspicion of spying on a British airbase for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Cypriot authorities apprehended Sultanov on July 17 and he remains in custody as extradition proceedings are ongoing, according to a statement from the Metropolitan police.
The arrest is part of the UK's first overseas investigation conducted under the National Security Act. Counter-terrorism police are investigating alleged incidents of hostile surveillance targeting Britain's RAF Akrotiri base in Cyprus. Sultanov is accused of conducting this surveillance and subsequently sharing the gathered information with the IRGC.
Helen Flanagan, head of counter-terrorism policing in London, highlighted the case as an example of the National Security Act's extraterritorial reach when British military bases are targeted by hostile state actors. RAF Akrotiri is a key UK military installation in the eastern Mediterranean.