Three Iranians on trial in London over spying on journalists

Three Iranian nationals have gone on trial at Woolwich Crown Court accused of spying on British-based dissident journalists for Iran’s foreign intelligence service.

Mostafa Sepahvand, 41, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 46, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 57, each deny two charges under Britain’s National Security Act, legislation brought in to give the authorities new powers to tackle threats from foreign states.

Prosecutors told the jury on Tuesday that the men conducted surveillance and reconnaissance on journalists working for Iran International, a London-based Persian-language television station critical of Iran’s government, between August 2024 and March 2025. Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones said the alleged objective was violent: “Eliminating hostile or critical voices … has effectively become a staple policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

The court heard the trio visited addresses linked to at least two journalists and took photographs and videos, in what prosecutors said was preparation for an attack that Sepahvand was to carry out.

The defendants accept having visited locations and taken photos and video but dispute the reason. Manesh and Noori’s case is that they did not know they were assisting Iranian intelligence, while Sepahvand accepts he knew but says he was “bullied or threatened into doing what he did”.

The trial opened this week amid growing tension between Britain and Iran. All three are presumed innocent unless convicted.

Sources: Reuters; The Straits Times; The Jerusalem Post