Man Accused of Spying for Iran at British Air Base in Cyprus
The authorities in Cyprus have arrested a man accused of spying on behalf of Iran after he was caught surveilling an air base that serves as an important hub for British operations in the Middle East.
British counterterrorism police said the man, Rashad Sultanov, 44, a dual British and Azerbaijani citizen, had shared details about the base with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the force charged with defending the regime in Iran that runs the country’s foreign intelligence service.
The arrest comes as the United States and Iran continue to trade strikes in a war that has repeatedly ensnared Britain, which says it is only allowing the American military to use its bases for defensive operations.
Last week, the Revolutionary Guards said that any British facility that Washington used to bomb Iran was a legitimate target. Heavy American bombers have repeatedly used a British base in Fairford, southwestern England, to conduct operations that London says are to protect British and allied interests across the Middle East.
The disclosure that Iran may have mounted spying operations in Cyprus, an island in the Mediterranean, shows the reach of the Revolutionary Guards, a powerful and shadowy force in Iran. The intelligence service relies on a vast network of operatives and proxies to target Western countries and interests.
Israeli and American forces have sought to diminish the Revolutionary Guards’ capabilities, including in attacks that killed two commanders earlier in the war.
The British police said the arrest of Mr. Sultanov relied on the National Security Act, a new law that includes criminal charges and stiffer prison sentences.
“This case shows we are able to use the National Security Act overseas when British military bases are allegedly targeted by hostile state activity,” said Cmdr. Helen Flanagan, head of counterterrorism policing for London.
Investigators said that Mr. Sultanov “conducted hostile surveillance on the base,” called R.A.F. Akrotiri, in May and June 2025. He is being detained in Cyprus as British investigators seek to extradite him.
In March, a Shahed drone hit the Akrotiri base, damaging an aircraft hangar. British fighters intercepted another pair of drones shortly after that attack. The same month, Iran fired two missiles at Diego Garcia, an island in the Indian Ocean that is the site of a joint British-U.S. military base. One missile was intercepted and the other fell short of its target.
Earlier this month, the British government accused the Revolutionary Guards of almost certainly directing a wave of attacks against Jews across Europe and took steps to designate the Iranian group a terrorist organization.
