Espionage Charges Against IRGC at Heart of Britain’s Strategic Base

The case of “Rashad Sultanoff,” a British-Azerbaijani dual citizen, has become Britain’s first extraterritorial case under the 2023 National Security Act; a development that, amid mounting tensions between Tehran and the West, has added new dimensions to concerns about Islamic Republic intelligence activities in Europe.

Britain has accused a dual citizen of spying for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and requested his extradition from Cyprus. London’s security officials say Rashad Sultanoff carried out “hostile reconnaissance” of the Royal Air Force’s strategic base at Akrotiri and provided the intelligence to the IRGC Pasdaran; an accusation that, if proven, would become one of the most significant security cases related to the Islamic Republic in Europe.

British security officials have announced the opening of one of the most important security cases in recent years against an individual accused of providing sensitive information from a British military base to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. This case emerges at a time when relations between the Islamic Republic and European countries over Tehran’s intelligence and security activities have entered a period of heightened tension.

London’s Metropolitan Police have announced that Rashad Sultanoff, 44, a British-Azerbaijani dual citizen and resident of Islington, London, has been charged with conducting “hostile reconnaissance” of RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. According to police, he provided the collected information to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and is now in custody of Cypriot authorities pending extradition proceedings to Britain.

According to British media reports, Sultanoff worked as a taxi driver before his arrest, but Britain’s counter-terrorism police investigations claim he collected information from British military facilities in Cyprus between May and June 2025. The British Crown Prosecution Service has also authorized charges against him under the 2023 National Security Act. This is the first time London has used this law to pursue a case outside British territory.

RAF Akrotiri is considered Britain’s most important operational center in the eastern Mediterranean and Middle East. British fighter jets have used this base in recent years for operations against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, as well as strikes against Houthi positions in Yemen. In recent months, this base has also been a target of security threats and drone attacks attributed to Iran, amid escalating tensions between the Islamic Republic, the United States, and Israel.

Helen Flanagan, commander of the Metropolitan Police’s counter-terrorism unit, said of the case: “This case demonstrates that we can apply the National Security Act outside our borders when British military bases are targeted by hostile actions from a foreign state.” According to her, the investigation was conducted in close cooperation with Cypriot police, British security services, and the Crown Prosecution Service.

Sultanoff’s arrest comes only weeks after the British government announced stricter measures against the IRGC and designated it as one of the principal threats to its national security. British security officials have repeatedly warned in recent months that networks affiliated with the Islamic Republic or its proxy forces have played a role in cases involving espionage, target identification, threats against opponents of Iran’s government, and centers associated with the Jewish community in Europe.

Despite the charges brought against him, the case of Rashad Sultanoff remains in judicial proceedings and, pending trial and a final verdict, he is presumed innocent according to legal principles. British authorities have announced that his extradition process from Cyprus continues and that a final decision on the charges will be made in court.

From the perspective of observers, the Rashad Sultanoff case is not merely a espionage case; rather, it is an indicator of European countries’ heightened sensitivity to intelligence activities attributed to the Islamic Republic outside Iran’s borders. If these charges are proven in court, this case could become one of the most significant examples of extraterritorial enforcement of Britain’s National Security Act and a turning point in London’s approach to activities attributed to the IRGC in Europe.