A landmark espionage case exposes threats beyond national borders.
LONDON, United Kingdom. Two Iranian men have been convicted of assisting a foreign intelligence service after conducting surveillance on journalists and a lawyer in Britain, in a case prosecutors linked to efforts to intimidate critics of Iran’s government. The verdict marks the first conviction of Iranian nationals under the UK’s National Security Act 2023.
Mostafa Sepahvand, 41, and Farhad Javadi Manesh, 46, were found guilty at Woolwich Crown Court following a trial examining surveillance activities carried out between August 2024 and March 2025. Sepahvand was also convicted of preparing a violent attack, while Manesh was acquitted of that additional charge.
Their targets included Mojtaba Pourmohsen and Kambiz Hosseini, journalists working for the London-based Persian-language broadcaster Iran International, and Jonathan Turner, a founding member of UK Lawyers for Israel.
Investigators established that the defendants gathered photographs, residential and workplace addresses, vehicle details and other personal information. Police recovered approximately 534 gigabytes of data and identified online searches, including research conducted using ChatGPT, that helped the suspects collect information about their targets.
According to the Crown Prosecution Service, Sepahvand maintained contact with individuals in Iran and discussed financial rewards for his activities. Investigators recovered communications indicating that he requested £150,000 to kill one of the people under surveillance.
Prosecutors described the operation as an organized effort to gather intelligence on individuals critical of the Iranian authorities. British counterterrorism officials warned that the case illustrated the risks associated with foreign intelligence networks operating through intermediaries.
A third defendant, Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 57, was acquitted of all charges.
Iran’s embassy in London rejected allegations of state involvement, denying that Tehran had directed or supported violent activities in Britain. The diplomatic response contrasts with the findings presented during the criminal proceedings.
The convictions also highlight how commercially available digital tools can facilitate surveillance. Although artificial intelligence platforms were used during the investigation’s documented activities, the case does not establish that such technologies independently enabled the alleged violence.
The two convicted men are scheduled to be sentenced at London’s Central Criminal Court on December 17.
Beyond the immediate criminal proceedings, the case raises concerns about the protection of journalists working in exile and the ability of foreign governments to intimidate critics outside their national territories.
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