Rashad Sultanov, a 44-year-old British man, was arrested on July 17 by Cypriot police on suspicion of spying on RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus on behalf of the Iranian military. The alleged offense occurred between May 11 and June 22, with Sultanov accused of carrying out "hostile surveillance" and sharing information with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. According to Commander Helen Flanagan, this is the first time an alleged offense under the National Security Act has been investigated in an overseas territory, using a law that was introduced in 2023. The case highlights the partnership work between British and Cypriot law enforcement agencies as they progress with extradition proceedings.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-21,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
A 44-year-old British man, Rashad Sultanov, has been arrested in Cyprus on suspicion of spying on a UK military base, RAF Akrotiri, on behalf of the Iranian military. He is accused of carrying out "hostile surveillance" and sharing information with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Sultanov, who also holds Azerbaijani citizenship, was arrested by Cypriot police on July 17th and is in custody pending extradition proceedings. The UK's Crown Prosecution Service says he will be charged under the National Security Act, which has never been used to investigate an alleged offense in an overseas territory before. Sultanov is accused of spying between May 11th, 2025 and June 22nd, 2025. This case marks a significant development in the use of the National Security Act outside of the UK. The arrest highlights concerns about hostile state activity targeting British military bases, particularly given recent operations to shoot down Iranian missiles and drones from RAF Akrotiri.
Written for “Briton Accused of Espionage” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The use of phrases such as 'hostile state activity' and 'hostile surveillance' frames the actions of Iran in a strongly negative light, while the description of Sultanov's actions as 'alleged spying' maintains a somewhat neutral tone.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score +0.65 for article 172 · logged 2026-07-31
- Published
A British man has been arrested on suspicion of spying on a UK military base in Cyprus on behalf of the Iranian military.
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man → publish → 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.
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Sultanov → accuse → Corps
Sultanov, who also holds Azerbaijani citizenship, was arrested by Cypriot police on 17 July and is in custody pending extradition proceedings.
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who → hold → 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.
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offence → say → territory
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.
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operations → maintain → months
The investigation, which was led by Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) London, focused on alleged spying between 11 May 2025 and 22 June 2025.
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which → lead → May
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.
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bases → say → activity
A huge amount of partnership work has been carried out between British and Cypriot law enforcement agencies.
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amount → carry → agencies
We continue to work with colleagues from the CPS, National Crime Agency and Cypriot authorities as extradition proceedings progress."
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proceedings → continue → CPS
