‘Iranian spy' arrested in Cyprus for ‘plotting terror attack on British base'

Telegraph

4 hours ago

A suspected Iranian spy has been arrested near an RAF base in Cyprus following intelligence suggesting he was planning a terrorist attack.
The man, who is of Azerbaijani descent, is alleged to have links to Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to reports.
Cypriot authorities confirmed on Saturday that they had arrested the unidentified man on suspicion of espionage and terror-related offences.
He allegedly had Britain's Akrotiri base, home to the RAF's Typhoons, and Cyprus's own Andreas Papandreou air base under surveillance since mid-April, ANT1 news portal reported.
The country's counter-terrorism unit received information from a foreign intelligence service that he was planning an immediate terrorist attack, Israeli outlet Channel 12 reports.
He was arrested in the Zakaki suburb of the coastal city of Limassol, just six miles from the British base.
The suspected spy was seen walking near RAF Akrotiri almost daily, carrying a camera with a magnifying lens and three mobile phones, Phileleftheros, Cyprus's largest newspaper, reported.
He is said to have been taking photos with long lens cameras as well as phones, using other electronic devices, as well as writing notes.
The individual appeared before a district court in a closed hearing on Saturday and has been given an eight-day detention order pending further investigation.
No further details are being issued, police said, citing national security.
The Akrotiri base is the UK's largest military installation outside Britain and plays a key role in supporting operations across the Middle East.
It hosts Eurofighter Typhoons, which have been used in strikes against the Islamic State and Yemen's Houthis, as well as Voyager tanker aircraft and Shadow intelligence aircraft.
Terror-related offences are extremely rare in Cyprus, an island of 1.3 million, which is strategically positioned between Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
In recent days, it has become a major transit hub for entry and exit into the Middle East following the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, which erupted on June 13.
The IRGC functions as a parallel military in Iran that answers directly to the Islamic Republic's rulers, oversees the country's ballistic missile and nuclear programmes and is responsible for overseas terror plots.
Believed to have over a quarter of a million personnel, it is one of the most powerful paramilitary organisations in the Middle East.
Renewed calls to proscribe the IRGC
Last month, Dan Jarvis, the security minister, told Parliament that police and MI5 have responded to 20 Iran-linked plots since 2022, including assassination and abduction attempts.
In May, the Israeli embassy in the UK became the target of an alleged Iranian terror plot.
Five men, including four Iranian nationals, were arrested at locations across England in what the Home Secretary described as one of the biggest counter-terror operations in recent years.
The suspected terror cell is believed to have been hours away from unleashing the attack on the embassy building in west London when the men were arrested.
Sir Keir Starmer faced renewed calls from his backbenchers on Saturday to proscribe the IRGC as a terror organisation following the Government's swift move to proscribe Palestinian Action after its activist damaged two RAF planes on Friday.
Labour called for the IRGC to be proscribed in opposition, but has yet to do so almost a year on.
Iran was the first foreign power to be listed on the top level of the foreign influence registration scheme, earlier this year, aimed at protecting the UK from malign foreign influence.