USS Harry S. Truman arrives at the NATO Marathi Pier Complex in Souda Bay, Greece, on Feb. 6, 2025. Greek authorities arrested an Azerbaijani man June 22, 2025, on suspicion of espionage after finding thousands of photographs of a U.S.-Greek military base on the island of Crete. (Delaney Jensen/U.S. Navy)

NAPLES, Italy — An Azerbaijani man suspected of espionage had thousands of photographs of a U.S.-Greek military facility on the island of Crete stored on various devices, authorities in Greece say.

A search of the man’s hotel room in Chania uncovered more than 5,000 photos of the naval and air force base that includes U.S. Naval Support Activity Souda Bay, Greek broadcaster EPT News reported, citing unidentified Greek officials.

The 26-year-old was arrested Sunday in a joint operation by Greek police and national intelligence agency authorities, according to EPT News.

He had requested a room with a view of the bay and left the hotel only twice for visits to a nearby mini market, EPT News reported. The broadcaster said he told authorities he was in Greece for tourism but has not cooperated further with investigators.

Most of the images were of military ships leaving and entering the facility. The photos were found on a laptop, phone, camera and USB storage device, officials told EPT News.

Specialized encryption software also was identified on the man’s laptop, EPT News reported. It was unclear who was receiving the photos.

It also wasn’t clear whether U.S. military authorities were involved in the raid, which EPT News said was based on information gathered by Greece’s national intelligence service.

NSA Souda Bay was aware of the arrest and is monitoring the situation, base spokeswoman Delaney Jensen said Monday, adding that she had no further information about the case.

Dozens of U.S. Navy and NATO ships visit NSA Souda Bay each year for supplies, repairs and rest. It is the only NATO deep-water facility in the Mediterranean Sea that can accommodate a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier pierside.

USS Harry S. Truman was repaired at the base in February following a collision with a cargo ship near the Suez Canal earlier that month.

On June 16, the destroyer USS Arleigh Burke, on duty in the eastern Mediterranean, was at port in Souda Bay, USNI News reported the same day.

NSA Souda Bay also is the homeport for the expeditionary sea base USS Hershel “Woody” Williams, which is assigned to U.S. Africa Command.

The man arrested Sunday entered Greece on Wednesday using a Polish passport. He was under surveillance as part of heightened security measures related to tensions in the Middle East, EPT News said.

A day earlier, a British man of Azerbaijani descent was arrested in Cyprus, according to the EPT News report.

In that case, the man was detained on suspicion of spying and terrorism-related offenses. He was reported to have connections to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the BBC reported on Saturday.

Cyprus is home to a U.K. air force base that has supported Israeli defenses against Iranian attack. Last week, U.K. officials announced that more planes will be sent to the base for additional security, the BBC said.