Two Iranian men convicted in London of spying for Tehran's guards
A jury at Woolwich Crown Court in London found Mostafa Sepahvand, 41, and Farhad Manesh, 46, guilty of spying on journalists for Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps. Prosecutors said the pair surveilled two journalists, a lawyer and a media professional between Aug 2024 and Mar 2025. Sepahvand was also found guilty of preparing physical attacks on the targets, who included staff of Iran International. A third defendant, Shapoor Noori, 57, was acquitted. Sentencing is scheduled for mid-December.
Key facts
- The targets included Iran International journalists Mojtaba Pourmohsen and Kambiz Hosseini and lawyer Jonathan Turner.
- Prosecutors said the defendants were stopped before any attack could take place.
- The men allegedly used ChatGPT to research their targets online.
- Supporting the Revolutionary Guard in the UK can bring up to 14 years in prison.
Summarised with AI from 5 sources · Updated 01:11Read our AI policy
Why it matters
The verdicts concern the UK's treatment of Iranian state-linked surveillance of critics living in Britain.
What changed
Summary updated
First published from The Straits Times, The Jerusalem Post, The National, The Independent and ABC News (US)