British-Azerbaijani taxi driver arrested in Cyprus over alleged Iran surveillance

Rashad Sultanov, a 44-year-old London taxi driver and dual UK-Azerbaijani citizen, was arrested by Cypriot police on July 17, 2026, on suspicion of conducting espionage against the United Kingdom. He is accused of carrying out "hostile surveillance" at RAF Akrotiri, the UK's primary air operations base in the Middle East, between May 11 and June 22, 2025, and sharing information with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Sultanov, who lives in Islington, north London, is being held in custody pending extradition to the UK, where the Crown Prosecution Service has authorized charges under the National Security Act.

This marks the first time the National Security Act—introduced in 2023 to modernize espionage laws and counter foreign interference from Russia, China, and Iran—has been used in an investigation of alleged offences at an overseas UK territory. Commander Helen Flanagan of Counter Terrorism Policing London stated: "This case shows we are able to use the National Security Act overseas when British military bases are allegedly targeted by hostile state activity."

RAF Akrotiri, located near Limassol on the southern coast of Cyprus, has been a permanent UK base since the 1950s. The facility is used for operations across the Middle East and has hosted British missions against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq and strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen. In March 2026, an Iranian-made drone struck the base's runway. In recent months, RAF operations launched from Akrotiri have focused on countering Iranian missile and drone threats. The investigation was led by Counter Terrorism Policing London in cooperation with Cypriot authorities, the National Crime Agency, and the Crown Prosecution Service.