A U-2 spy aircraft prepares for landing at the UK's RAF Akrotiri air base near Limassol, Cyprus, on March 7, 2026. [AP]
Britain has asked Cyprus to extradite a dual British-Azerbaijani national suspected of spying on a British air base on the Mediterranean island and passing his findings to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, London police said on Friday.
Rashad Sultanov, 44, from Islington in north London, is being held in custody by Cypriot authorities as extradition proceedings progress, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.
The case marks Britain’s first overseas National Security Act investigation, led by counter-terrorism police into incidents at Britain’s RAF Akrotiri base in Cyprus between May 11 and June 22 last year, the statement said.
Police in Cyprus, where Britain has two military bases, said the suspect was first arrested in 2025 and had been in custody since then. An Israeli minister at the time said Cypriot authorities had thwarted an attack on Israeli citizens.
