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A British man has been arrested in Cyprus on suspicion of spying and terror-related offenses. He is thought to have carried out surveillance for Iran on the Royal Air Force Akrotiri base on the island. He was arrested in the Zakaki suburb of the coastal city of Limassol, just six miles from the British base.
Local media say he is of Azerbaijani descent is alleged to have links to Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). He is said to have been taking photos with long-lens cameras as well as phones, using other electronic devices, as well as writing notes, according to reports.
He appeared in a district court earlier on Saturday and was detained for a further eight days. The Foreign Office said it was in contact with Cypriot authorities.
Although it is not in the Middle East, RAF Akrotiri is the UK's most significant in the region and has previously been used to help defend Israeli skies from attack by Iran.
The Akrotiri base is the UK’s largest military installation outside Britain . It hosts Eurofighter Typhoons, which have been used in strikes against the Islamic State and Yemen’s Houthis, as well as Voyager tanker aircraft and Shadow intelligence aircraft. In recent days, it has become a major transit hub for entry and exit into the Middle East following the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, which erupted on June 13.
Last week, it was announced that further planes would be sent there to protect existing UK assets.
In a statement, the UK Foreign Office said: "We are in contact [with] the authorities in Cyprus regarding the arrest of a British man."
Cyprus's ANT1 news outlet said the suspect was thought to have had RAF Akrotiri under surveillance, as well as Cyprus's own Andreas Papandreou Air Base in the western region of Paphos since mid-April.
RAF Akrotiri is home to fast jets, reconnaissance, transport and refueling aircraft.
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