British man accused of spying for Iran at RAF base could be extradited to UK

A British man is fighting extradition to the UK to face charges of spying for Iran at an RAF base in Cyprus.Rashad Sultanov, 44, a dual UK and Azerbaijani national, is accused of conducting hostile surveillance at RAF Akrotiri and sharing information with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, according to the Metropolitan Police.Sultanov, from Islington, north London, was arrested on July 17 and is now in custody as extradition proceedings progress.The force said the Crown Prosecution Service has authorised charges against him under the National Security Act.RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus is home to over 1,500 British military personnel and around 1,400 of their family members (Joe Giddens/PA)PA ArchiveAccording to The Daily Telegraph, Sultanov appeared in Cyprus’s Limassol District Court to fight extradition on Thursday.The newspaper reported his lawyer successfully argued that proceedings should be adjourned until he is provided a UK lawyer funded by British legal aid.His arrest follows an investigation, led by Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) London, into incidents at RAF Akrotiri between May 11 and June 22 last year.Sultanov was arrested as part of the first investigation using the National Security Act in relation to alleged offences in an overseas territory, the Met said.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.“A huge amount of partnership work has been carried out between British and Cypriot law enforcement agencies.“We continue to work with colleagues from the CPS, National Crime Agency and Cypriot authorities as extradition proceedings progress.”President of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, has called for talks about the future of the British bases (James Manning/PA)PA ArchiveRAF Akrotiri is the UK’s most important airbase for operations in the Middle East and has played a role in the US’s military campaign, with RAF jets flying sorties from the island to protect against Iranian drones.Read MoreIn April, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides called for talks about the future of the two British bases in Cyprus once the Iran war is over.Tensions rose after an Iranian-made drone struck RAF Akrotiri in March and there was a delay in Britain dispatching a warship to help protect the island.HMS Dragon arrived in the eastern Mediterranean more than three weeks after the base was hit by a Shahed-136 drone, an attack that raised concerns in Cyprus that hosting the bases could pose a threat to the island’s security.Akrotiri and Dhekelia are British sovereign territory under a treaty signed on Cypriot independence in 1960.