来自伦敦北部伊斯林顿的44岁英国-阿塞拜疆籍男子拉沙德·苏坦诺夫因涉嫌对驻塞浦路斯英军RAF阿克罗蒂里基地进行敌对监视并将情报传递给伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队而被逮捕[1]。苏坦诺夫于2024年7月17日被塞浦路斯当局拘押[1]，监视活动发生在2023年5月11日至6月22日期间[1]。这一案件由英国反恐警察负责调查，是英国首次在海外适用《国家安全法》的相关调查[1]。
英国反恐警察负责人海伦·弗兰纳根表示："这案例表明我们能够在海外使用《国家安全法》来应对针对英国军事基地的敌对国家活动"[1]。伊朗曾在3月2日对阿克罗蒂里基地发动Shahed无人机袭击并造成轻微损伤，并向迪戈加西亚美英军事基地发射两枚弹道导弹[1]。
A 44-year-old British-Azerbaijani man from north London's Islington has been arrested in Cyprus on charges of conducting hostile surveillance of RAF Akrotiri, a British military base on the island, and passing information to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.[1] Rashad Sultanow was detained by Cypriot authorities on July 17, 2024, as part of what marks the first overseas investigation under Britain's National Security Act, led by counter-terrorism police.[1]
According to authorities, the surveillance activity took place between May 11 and June 22, 2023.[1] The investigation comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and Western military installations in the region. Iran launched Shahed drones against RAF Akrotiri on March 2, causing minor damage to the base, and fired two ballistic missiles at Diego Garcia, a joint British-American military facility, earlier that month.[1]
Helen Flanagan, the head of Britain's counter-terrorism police, stated: "This case demonstrates our ability to use the National Security Act overseas to counter hostile state activity directed at British military bases."[1]