3 alleged Iranian spies face charges in London on plan to target journalists

A sign outside New Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police, in London, on March 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

LONDON — Three alleged Iranian spies faced charges in a London court Saturday that they conducted surveillance on and plotted violence against U.K.-based journalists for an Iranian news outlet.

Mostafa Sepahvand, 39, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 44, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 55, were charged with engaging in conduct likely to assist Iran’s foreign intelligence service between Aug. 14, 2024 and Feb. 16, 2025.

Sepahvand was also charged with engaging in “surveillance, reconnaissance and open-source research,” intending to commit serious violence against a person in the United Kingdom. The others are charged with engaging in surveillance and reconnaissance with the intention serious violence would be committed by others.

Iran International, a Persian-language TV channel based in London that is critical of the theocratic government in Tehran, reported that the defendants were trying to locate and target its journalists. The Iranian government has called the news outlet a terrorist organization.

All three men were living in London after entering the U.K. through unauthorized means between 2016 and 2022. They have been in custody since their arrests on May 3. A fourth man arrested in the same investigation was released without charge.

The three did not enter pleas during a brief hearing in Westminster Magistrates’ Court. They confirmed their identities through a Farsi interpreter.

They were held in custody awaiting a hearing June 6 at the Central Criminal Court.

Britain’s domestic intelligence service has warned of a growing threat from attackers linked to Tehran.

On the day the men were arrested two weeks ago, police took four other Iranian nationals into custody on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act in a separate investigation. They were released from custody Saturday, though counterterror police said that investigation continues.

“We are working very closely with the premises we identified as the suspected target of the alleged plot, and we continue to provide them with support,” said Cmdr. Dominic Murphy of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command. “This has been, and continues to be, a highly complex investigation, and we will not hesitate to take further action if we believe there is any imminent threat to the public.”

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the government plans to publish a review next week of how to apply the U.K.’s counterterrorism approach to state threats.

“Iran must be held to account for its actions,” Cooper said. “We must also strengthen our powers to protect our national security as we will not tolerate growing state threats on our soil.”

Article by Brian Melley.