Two Iranian men convicted of spying in London court
A UK court has found two men guilty of conducting surveillance on journalists and activists to aid Iranian intelligence operations.
By Evelyn Adeyemi ·
Two Iranian nationals have been found guilty of spying for Tehran by a court in the United Kingdom. The convictions came after a six week trial at Woolwich Crown Court in south London, where prosecutors argued the men engaged in conduct designed to assist Iran’s intelligence service. Their goal was to help inflict violence on specific individuals residing in the UK.
Mostafa Sepahvand, 41, and Farhad Javadi Manesh, 46, were the defendants found guilty on Thursday. A third defendant, Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 57, was acquitted on all charges. The targets of the surveillance included journalists working for the Persian language broadcaster Iran International, which is banned by the government in Tehran. The specific journalists named were Mojtaba Pourmohsen and Kambiz Hosseini. Jonathan Turner, a founding member of UK Lawyers for Israel, was also among those monitored.
Frank Ferguson, the chief prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service’s special crime and counterterrorism division, described the case as a calculated operation aimed at spying on those critical of the Iranian regime. Speaking to reporters, he noted that the pair were promised rewards for sending intelligence back to Iran. Ferguson further stated that Sepahvand was willing to go beyond mere surveillance to commit a violent attack against at least one of the targets.
The legal context for these charges includes recent changes to UK law. In July, the UK outlawed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps under new powers designed to counteract state threats. Under these regulations, anyone convicted of supporting or assisting the organization faces penalties of up to 14 years in prison.
London’s Metropolitan Police highlighted that this is the fourth case in recent years involving direct threats to Iranian journalists in the country. Vicki Evans, a deputy assistant commissioner at the Met, stated that the force is working hard to keep these individuals safe. She observed that the threat from hostile states is increasing and that Iran continues to adapt its approach by using proxies.
Evans explained that Iran has been seen using various methods, including individuals who fly into the country to carry out criminal activity before leaving shortly after. In other instances, British nationals have been used, while in this specific case, Iranian nationals with settled immigration status were involved. She noted that these patterns demonstrate the evolving tactics of state actors targeting the UK.
The accused men were charged with visiting addresses linked to their targets, taking photographs and videos, and using online platforms such as ChatGPT to research their victims. Their sentencing is scheduled to take place on December 17 at the Central Criminal Court in London, which is better known as the Old Bailey.
This case follows a recent plot linked to Iran against a United States run military airbase in England. The ongoing legal proceedings underscore the complex landscape of state sponsored espionage and the challenges faced by security services in identifying and prosecuting individuals operating within the country.
