UK court finds two Iranian men guilty of spying for Iran
Two Iranian men have been found guilty of spying for Tehran by a UK court after conducting surveillance on journalists and others in London.
The pair were accused of conducting surveillance on several people, including journalists for Iran International, Mojtaba Pourmohsen and Kambiz Hosseini, and a founding member of UK Lawyers for Israel, Jonathan Turner. Iran International is banned by the government in Tehran.
A third defendant, Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 57, was acquitted on all charges. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was outlawed by the UK in July under new powers to counteract state threats, with penalties of up to 14 years in prison for anyone convicted of supporting or assisting the organisation.
Prosecution claims
Frank Ferguson, chief prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service's special crime and counterterrorism division, stated: "This was a calculated operation to spy on those critical of the Iranian regime." He added that the pair were promised rewards to send intelligence back to Iran, while Sepahvand was willing to go beyond surveillance to commit a "violent attack" against at least one of the targets.
This was a calculated operation to spy on those critical of the Iranian regime.
Broader threat
London's Metropolitan Police highlighted this was the fourth case in recent years involving direct threats to Iranian journalists in the UK. "The threat from hostile states to the UK is increasing and Iran continues to adapt its approach to using 'proxies'," said Vicki Evans, deputy assistant commissioner at the Met.
Sepahvand and Manesh were accused of visiting addresses linked to their targets, taking photos and videos and using platforms such as ChatGPT to research them online. Iran has also been linked with a plot against a United States-run military airbase in England. The pair will be sentenced at London's Central Criminal Court, better known as the Old Bailey, on December 17.
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