A London man has been arrested in Cyprus on suspicion of conducting hostile surveillance on a British military base on behalf of Iran, police have said. Rashad Sultanov, 44, a UK-Azerbaijani national, is alleged to have monitored RAF Akrotiri and shared information with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). He was detained on 17 July, and British authorities are seeking his extradition.
The Metropolitan Police said Sultanov, who lives in London and reportedly works as a taxi driver, has been charged under the National Security Act. The arrest followed an investigation by counter-terrorism detectives into incidents at the air base in May and June 2025. Commander Helen Flanagan said: "This case shows we are able to use the National Security Act overseas when British military bases are allegedly targeted by hostile state activity."
RAF Akrotiri is the UK's main air base for operations in the Middle East, hosting missions against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq as well as strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen. The base was hit by an Iranian-made drone in March amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran.
Earlier this month, the UK banned the IRGC, which it described as a threat to national security. The move came amid warnings from law enforcement and intelligence officials that Iran-backed proxy groups are behind a growing number of attacks in Europe, many targeting Jewish communities and opponents of the Iranian government.
Britain retained Akrotiri and another base on Cyprus after the island gained independence from British colonial rule in 1960.
