Two illegal migrants found guilty of spying on journalists in Britain for Iran

Two Iranian men have been found guilty of spying on dissident journalists in Britain on behalf of Iranian intelligence.

Mostafa Sepahvand, 41, and Farhad Javadi Manesh, 46, were found guilty at Woolwich Crown Court of engaging in conduct likely to assist Iran’s intelligence service this morning.

The pair carried out surveillance between August 2024 and March 2025, in an attempt to inflict violence on "subjects" in the UK.

The "subjects" include Mojtaba Pourmohsen and Kambiz Hosseini, working for London-based Persian broadcaster Iran International, and Jonathan Turner, a founder member of UK Lawyers for Israel.

The surveillence the pair conducted included using online platforms such as ChatGPT to research personal information, travelling to addresses linked to the targets, and taking photos and videos of various locations.

Sepahvand intended to carry out a "violent attack" against at least one of the individuals, prosecutors said, while Manesh assisted in the plans.

Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 57, was found not guilty of the same charge.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans, senior national coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP), said: "It is clear the arrests of these two men by Counter Terrorism Policing officers prevented serious violence from being inflicted on one or more individuals in the UK.

“Following the arrests, the investigation team worked diligently and quickly to translate into English thousands of messages in Farsi and then used mobile phone cell site data to build a compelling record of the surveillance.

“The activity laid out in this case reflects a pattern of Iran targeting Persian language media in the UK, particularly Iran International.

“Indeed, this is the fourth case in recent years involving direct threat to Iran International journalists and we are working hard to keep them safe.

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“The threat from hostile states to the UK is increasing and Iran continues to adapt its approach to using ‘proxies’, we have seen examples of people who fly into the country to carry out criminal activity and then leave shortly afterwards, to using British nationals or, in this case, Iranian nationals with settled immigration status.

“People are often tasked via social media with the promise of large amounts of money, as seen in this case.

“However, the proxy takes on all the risk and will often only receive a fraction, if any, of the promised financial reward.

“So, our message to anyone being asked to carry out activity by foreign states, or even unknown entities online, is to think again.

“As demonstrated in recent cases across the UK, Counter terrorism policing officers are working relentlessly to arrest those responsible for state sponsored criminality. Using the National Security Act, we can ensure those arrested for these crimes face charges that can lead to substantial prison sentences following conviction.”

Sepahvand and Manesh had all been granted leave to granted temporary leave to remain in the UK after claiming asylum.

Sepahvand arrived concealed in a lorry in 2016, while Manesh got to British shores on a small boat between 2016 and 2022.

Nigel Farage said: "I have said multiple times in and out of Parliament that Iranian spies were breaking into the country illegally.

"The crisis in the channel is a national security threat. Why does no one listen?"

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