This arrest resulted from an investigation conducted by the Greek National Intelligence Service in La Canée, a city in Crete near the Souda base, following information about espionage activities.
Greek intelligence services and police arrested a Georgian man on Monday evening, March 2, suspected of spying on the military base of Souda, on the island of Crete, used by the US army, according to the Greek news agency ANA and the public television ERT.
The possibility that this man may have gathered information on behalf of Iran is currently being examined, the agency said, as the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, stayed two days at the Souda naval base and left on Thursday morning.
The 36-year-old man was arrested at Athens International Airport, according to public broadcaster ERT.
The man arrived in Greece on February 3
Photographs of the Souda naval base were found on his mobile phone and an investigation is underway to determine if he also recorded movements of the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, according to the Kathimerini newspaper.
This Georgian, originally from Azerbaijan, arrived in Greece on February 3 and went directly to La Canée, where he rented a room overlooking Souda Bay, ANA reported.
This arrest is the result of an ongoing investigation by the Greek National Intelligence Service (EYP) in La Canée, a city in Crete near the Souda base, following information about espionage activities, the same source said.
In June, an Azerbaijani national, found with multiple photos of the Souda military base, was already arrested in Crete and placed in provisional detention on suspicion of espionage.
A few days earlier, the Cypriot press reported the arrest of a man suspected of spying on the British military base at Akrotiri, on the island of Cyprus, and being linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.
The British base at Akrotiri was hit by an Iranian drone from Sunday night to Monday.
This strike is the first to target a European Union country since the start of the war in the Middle East, triggered by US-Israeli strikes on Saturday. The Souda naval base houses around 1,000 people, including military personnel, American civilian employees, local employees, and contractors.
