Skip to content

British man accused of spying on Cyprus RAF base for Iran

Sean Seddon
Reuters A British military plane landing at RAF Akrotiri Reuters
Rashad Sultanov has been accused of carrying out spying on RAF Akrotiri

A British man has been arrested on suspicion of spying on a UK military base in Cyprus on behalf of the Iranian military.

Rashad Sultanov, 44, of Islington, north London, is accused of carrying out "hostile surveillance" on RAF Akrotiri and sharing information with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

Sultanov, who also holds Azerbaijani citizenship, was arrested by Cypriot police on 17 July and is in custody pending extradition proceedings.

The Crown Prosecution Service has said he will be charged under the National Security Act - the first time an alleged offence under the 2023 law has been investigated in an overseas territory.

Locator map of Cyprus showing the location of RAF Akrotiri on the island's southern coast. RAF Akrotiri is highlighted in a red label with a pointer to a black dot on the Akrotiri peninsula, just southwest of Limassol. Nicosia is marked near the centre-north of the island; Larnaca is shown on the southeast coast; Limassol is marked on the south coast west of Larnaca; and Paphos is shown on the southwest coast. The island is displayed in light grey with roads and boundaries marked, surrounded by a pale blue sea. An inset map in the top-left corner shows Cyprus's location in the eastern Mediterranean.

The UK has maintained a permanent base at Akrotiri since the 1950s and RAF operations to shoot down Iranian missiles and drones have been launched from there in recent months.

The investigation, which was led by Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) London, focused on alleged spying between 11 May 2025 and 22 June 2025.

Commander Helen Flanagan, head of CTP London, 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.

"A huge amount of partnership work has been carried out between British and Cypriot law enforcement agencies.

"We continue to work with colleagues from the CPS, National Crime Agency and Cypriot authorities as extradition proceedings progress."