Police and intelligence sources confirmed that Greek authorities detained a 36-year old man for allegedly spying on the U.S. Naval Base?on?the island of?Crete. This base is a strategic facility in the eastern Mediterranean for the United States.

On the basis of information from the country's intelligence services, a man was arrested at Athens airport. Souda bay?in Crete houses military bases for Greece, U.S., and?the NATO alliance. Recently, the U.S. Aircraft carrier Gerald?R was also based there. Ford visited the base to resupply his ship before it sailed for the Middle East.

Officials from the Greek authorities have said that they've launched an investigation and are examining digital evidence.

A Greek intelligence source revealed that the suspect had photos of the U.S. aircraft carriers on his phone. Authorities were also investigating possible links to a person living in Iran via a mobile app.

The man was a Georgian citizen who arrived from Germany in February and stayed at a hotel close to Souda last month. According to sources, he has yet to make a statement on the accusations. Greek police arrested a man in June on suspicion of spying. He had been staying at a hotel for several days near a naval and air base on western Crete.

Authorities are investigating if the two cases have any connection. Reporting from Athens by Yannis Souiotis, writing by Renee Maltezou and editing by Matthew Lewis

(source: Reuters)