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A London court convicts two Iranians of spying for the IRGC
A British court convicted two Iranians of assisting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps by surveilling journalists at Iran International and a British lawyer. Police released footage of their arrests, while one of the men had intended to carry out a “violent attack” against one of the targets.
On Thursday, Woolwich Crown Court in south London convicted two Iranian men of carrying out acts likely to assist a foreign intelligence service after they surveilled journalists and a lawyer living in Britain on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The convicted men are Mostafa Sepehvand, 41, and Farhad Javadi Manesh, 46, while a third defendant, Shapur Qaleh-Ali Khani Nouri, 57, was acquitted.
The verdict followed a six-week trial. The BBC reported that the two men were asylum seekers living in west London who had been granted temporary residence permits. Sepehvand arrived in Britain concealed in a truck in 2016, while Manesh arrived by small boat in 2019.
Journalists and lawyer among the targets
The prosecution said the targets included journalists Mojtaba Pourmohsen and Kambiz Hosseini, who work for the Persian-language channel Iran International, based in London, and lawyer Jonathan Turner, one of the founders of Lawyers for Israel UK, as well as a person working in media production. The court said Sepehvand intended to carry out a “violent attack” against at least one of them and that Manesh helped him plan it.
Police seized 534 gigabytes of data, which showed that the two men had received files containing photographs of the targets, their work addresses, the makes and colours of their cars, and even the names of their pets. They also visited addresses linked to the targets, took photographs and videos, and used ChatGPT to gather more information about them.
The footage released by British police, recorded by body-worn cameras, shows officers storming a flat on May 3, 2025, taking control of one of the suspects and restraining him inside.
£150,000 to “finish” a target
The evidence showed that Sepehvand was in contact with two men using Iranian phone numbers and had requested £150,000 to “get rid of” one of the targets, insisting that he “would do it.” Frank Ferguson of the Crown Prosecution Service’s counterterrorism division said: “Fortunately, the defendants were stopped before any attack took place.” He added that the case demonstrated the willingness of Iranian intelligence to use proxies to target critics of the regime abroad.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicky Evans said it was the first time a ChatGPT search record had been presented in a case involving a threat from a foreign state. She said: “The threat posed by states hostile to Britain is increasing, and Iran continues to adapt the way it uses proxies.” London police said this was the fourth case in recent years involving a direct threat to Iran International journalists.
Britain banned the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps last July under new powers to counter state threats, with supporting or assisting the organisation punishable by up to 14 years in prison. The Iranian Embassy in London, meanwhile, said it “categorically rejects” any allegation of involvement in “violent activities or incidents” in the United Kingdom. The two convicted men are due to be sentenced at the Old Bailey on December 17.
Video and photos: British Counter Terrorism Police. Cover photo: Associated Press
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