European country arrests Iranian spy near British military base

London police announced on Friday the arrest of 44-year-old British-Azerbaijani citizen Rashad Sultanov in Cyprus. A statement from the London Metropolitan Police confirmed that the suspect, a resident of North London, is currently being held in custody pending extradition proceedings.

Sultanov is suspected of passing information to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and is accused of monitoring the base for a hostile entity. The head of the Counter Terrorism Command at the London police stated:

"This case demonstrates our ability to use the National Security Act overseas, when British military bases are targeted in what is suspected to be an attack by a hostile state."

There are two British military bases in Cyprus with sovereign status, including the Akrotiri base, which was targeted by an Iranian UAV in early March, shortly after the start of Operation 'Lion's Roar'.

This is not the first time that Azerbaijani citizens have been linked to espionage for Iran. In October 2024, seven immigrants from Azerbaijan were arrested in Israel on suspicion of spying for the Ayatollah regime.

Azerbaijan, a close friend of Israel, was part of Iran until 200 years ago. The southern part of the region remains in Iran today, while the northern part was conquered and annexed by the Russian Empire before becoming an independent state. Despite the complex relations between the two countries, a large Azerbaijani community resides in Iran, and one of its prominent figures was the recently eliminated Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.