Police in Cyprus arrested an Azerbaijani man on Friday who is associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on suspicion of terror-related offenses and espionage, Cypriot media reported.
The arrest was made following intelligence that he was planning an attack, according to a report from Phileleftheros, the largest newspaper in Cyprus. The Cypriot news source said it received information from intelligence saying the individual has been in the country since April.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar reported that Israeli security services worked in tandem with their Cypriot counterparts to apprehend the suspect.
The individual appeared before the Limassol District Court on Friday morning, the report said, which ordered an eight-day detention pending inquiries. No further details would be issued, police said, citing national security.
Several Cypriot news outlets reported that the suspect had been arrested in the Zakaki suburb of the coastal city of Limassol. The suspect was thought to have had a British RAF military base in nearby Akrotiri under surveillance, as well as Cyprus's own Andreas Papandreou Air Base in the western region of Paphos since mid-April, Cyprus's ANT1 news portal reported.
Phileleftheros also reported that the suspect had been surveilled moving on foot near the UK bases almost every day with a large camera, telephoto lenses, and three mobile phones. The suspect took photos of the bases with his camera and other devices.
Country used as transit point from Middle East conflict in recent months
Cyprus lies very close to the Middle East and has in recent days been used as a transit point for people either leaving or going to the region amid a conflict between regional foes Israel and Iran. Several Israelis board flights from the island to enter and leave Israel while much of Israel's airspace remains closed and major airlines cancel flights.
Terror-related offenses on the island are very rare.