ATHENS, March 2 (Reuters) – Greek authorities have detained a 36-year-old man on suspicion of spying on a U.S. naval base on the island of Crete, a strategic facility for the United States in the eastern Mediterranean, police and intelligence sources said on Monday.
The man was detained at Athens’ airport on information by the country’s intelligence service.
Souda Bay in Crete is home to military facilities for Greece, the U.S. and the NATO military alliance, and recently, the U.S. aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford had visited the base for resupply before sailing to the Middle East.
Greek authorities have launched an investigation into the case, the officials said, adding that digital evidence was being examined.
Photographs of the U.S. aircraft carrier were found on the suspect’s phone and authorities were investigating potential links with a person in Iran through a mobile application, a Greek intelligence source said.
The man, a Georgian national, arrived from Germany on February 3 and was staying at a hotel near Souda last month. He has not yet made any statement on the accusations, according to the sources.
In June, Greek police arrested another man on suspicion of espionage, who had also been staying for days at a hotel near the naval and air force base in western Crete that has tightened security since Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran on Saturday.
Authorities are investigating whether the two cases are linked.
(Reporting by Yannis Souliotis in Athens, Writing by Renee Maltezou; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
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