Espionage Charges Against Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps at Heart of Britain’s Strategic Base
The case of Rashad Sultanof, a dual British-Azerbaijani citizen, has become Britain’s first offshore case under the 2023 National Security Act; a case that has added new dimensions to concerns about the Islamic Republic’s intelligence activities in Europe amid escalating tensions between Tehran and the West.
Britain has accused a dual citizen of spying for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and sought his extradition from Cyprus. London’s security officials say Rashad Sultanof conducted “hostile reconnaissance” of the Royal Air Force strategic base at Akrotiri and provided its information to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps; 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 significant security cases in recent years against an individual accused of providing sensitive information from a British military base to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of the Islamic Revolution. The case comes at a time when relations between the Islamic Republic and European countries have entered a tense phase over Tehran’s intelligence and security activities.
London’s Metropolitan Police announced that 44-year-old Rashad Sultanof, a British-Azerbaijani dual citizen and resident of London’s Islington area, has been accused of conducting “hostile reconnaissance” of RAF Akrotiri airbase in Cyprus. According to police, he provided the collected information to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of the Islamic Revolution and is currently in the custody of Cypriot authorities pending his extradition to Britain.
According to British media reports, Sultanof was working as a taxi driver before his arrest, but British counterterrorism police investigations claim he collected information from British military facilities in Cyprus between May and June 2025. The British prosecution 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.
Akrotiri airbase 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 in operations against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, as well as strikes against Houthi positions in Yemen. In recent months, amid heightened tensions between the Islamic Republic, the United States, and Israel, this base has also been a target of security threats and drone attacks attributed to Iran.
Helen Flanagan, commander of the Metropolitan Police’s counterterrorism unit, commented on this case: “This case demonstrates that we can use the National Security Act outside the country when British military bases are targeted by hostile acts of a foreign state.” According to her, these investigations were conducted in close cooperation with Cypriot police, British security services, and the British prosecution.
Sultanof’s arrest comes just weeks after the British government announced stricter measures against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, designating it as one of the main 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 roles in cases related to espionage, target identification, threats against opponents of Iran’s government, and centers associated with the Jewish community in Europe.
Despite the allegations, the case of Rashad Sultanof remains in judicial proceedings, and he is presumed innocent until trial and final judgment, in accordance with legal principles. British authorities have stated that his extradition proceedings from Cyprus continue and a final decision on the charges will be made in court.
The case of Rashad Sultanof, in observers’ view, is not merely a spy case; rather, it is an indication of European countries’ increasing sensitivity to intelligence activities attributed to the Islamic Republic outside Iran’s borders. If these allegations are proven in court, this case could become one of the most significant examples of Britain’s extraterritorial application of its National Security Act and a turning point in London’s handling of activities attributed to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Europe.
