Counterintelligence — 2026-08-03

UK Charges British-Azerbaijani National With Spying on RAF Akrotiri for Iran IRGC in First Overseas National Security Act Case

BLUFSultanov's extradition from Cyprus to face trial remains very unlikely by late January 2027, as untested extraterritorial jurisdiction under the National Security Act and standard procedural timelines favor protracted proceedings.

Cypriot authorities arrested Rashad Sultanov, 44, a dual British-Azerbaijani national from Islington, north London, on July 17 12. The Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Policing command said the Crown Prosecution Service authorized charges under Sections 3 and 4 of the National Security Act covering assisting a foreign intelligence service and inspecting a prohibited place 2, alleging Sultanov photographed RAF Akrotiri with long-lens cameras and phones, took extensive notes, and encrypted the files before passing them to Iran's IRGC between May 11 and June 22 last year 12. The UK's extradition request names the alleged recipient as Elsad Elsin Hajiyev, an Azerbaijani-Iranian national already wanted on an international arrest warrant for directing an IRGC-linked network inside Azerbaijan 1. CTP London called it the first National Security Act investigation into alleged offenses committed in an overseas territory 12, and Commander Helen Flanagan said British and Cypriot police, the CPS, and the National Crime Agency have coordinated on the case 1. Sultanov remains in Cypriot custody as extradition proceedings continue 12.

Analysis
Sultanov's transfer to UK custody is very unlikely by January 31, 2027: Cypriot courts control extradition pacing for this first extraterritorial National Security Act prosecution, with no precedent to compress the timeline and no plea yet entered before any tribunal. Confidence is low given the case's procedural novelty and thin reporting on hearing dates or defense posture. Sourcing traces largely to the Metropolitan Police's own announcement, with other outlets supplying wire pickup rather than independent verification, consistent with a single-source consensus despite two carrying primary tags. The prosecution's timing, close on the IRGC's national-security designation and the March Akrotiri drone strike, suggests the case may function as a demonstrative marker of the Act's overseas reach rather than an urgent counterespionage response. A completed extradition would let prosecutors test that jurisdiction in open court and surface IRGC tradecraft at trial, while continued Cypriot detention leaves the precedent unresolved and denies UK authorities a public venue to demonstrate enforcement reach.
4 sources
  1. British man arrested in Cyprus accused of 'hostile surveillance' at RAF base for Iran's IRGC - ITV News
  2. UK charges man accused of spying on RAF base for Iran's IRGC - Iran International
  3. Man arrested in Cyprus on suspicion of spying on a UK military base for Iran - Washington Post
  4. Man arrested in Cyprus in first overseas National Security Act investigation - Metropolitan Police

View in full brief →

UNCLASSIFIED // OPEN SOURCE