Three Iranians on trial in UK for spying on dissident journalists

Three Iranian men went on trial at Woolwich Crown Court on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, facing accusations that they spied on British-based dissident journalists on behalf of Tehran's foreign intelligence service. Prosecutors told the London jury that the surveillance operation was designed to prepare for acts of serious violence as retribution for critical coverage of the Iranian regime. The proceedings unfold amid broader tensions between Britain and Iran, addressing what authorities describe as a systematic campaign to silence hostile or critical voices abroad.

The defendants standing trial are Mostafa Sepahvand, 41, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 46, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 57, according to Reuters reporting published by Internazionale. Each man has denied two charges brought under Britain's National Security Act, legislation enacted to grant authorities enhanced powers to target foreign state threats. Court documents and prosecution statements show that all three defendants were born in Iran, lived in London, and had been granted temporary leave to remain after claiming asylum, having arrived in the UK between 2016 and 2022 via lorries or small boats, as reported by the BBC.

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Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones KC detailed to the jury that the trio conducted surveillance and reconnaissance between August 2024 and March 2025. The targets of this intelligence-gathering were journalists working for Iran International, a Persian-language satellite channel headquartered in London that broadcasts into Iran and is viewed as hostile by the Tehran government, which has designated the outlet a terrorist organisation. According to صوت الإمارات, the operations involved visiting linked addresses, researching targets online, and recording photographs and videos.

The prosecution contends that the ultimate objective was to subject one or more targets to serious violence. Specific evidence presented indicated that journalist Mojtaba Pourmohsen was targeted, with images of his workplace, a previously inhabited hotel, and his block of flats in Brentford, southwest London, recovered from a briefing document on Sepahvand's mobile phone. Additionally, the defendants allegedly possessed a briefing sheet concerning a barrister, Jonathan Turner, who serves as a founding member of UK Lawyers for Israel, noted the BBC.

While the defendants acknowledge their presence at the locations and admit capturing photos and video footage, they sharply dispute the motivations ascribed to them by the state. Manesh and Noori maintain they were entirely unaware that their actions assisted Iranian intelligence. Sepahvand acknowledges he knew who he was working for, but claims he acted out of fear after being bullied or threatened, according to UA.NEWS. The prosecution dismissed Sepahvand's coercion claim as bogus, asserting instead that he was motivated by financial gain and an explicit desire to have a prior criminal conviction for theft in Iran "fixed" by his handlers.

The current proceedings at Woolwich Crown Court follow a series of related security investigations involving foreign intelligence operations on British soil. In a separate case handled earlier at Westminster Magistrates' Court, a 46-year-old Greek national, Ioannis Aidinidis, was charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service believed to be Iran after allegedly using a covert camera hidden inside a sock and placed in a tree to monitor an Iran International journalist, as reported by Vijesti and BBC News. Counter Terrorism Policing London has emphasized that security support and advice continue to be provided to vulnerable media organisations and personnel facing transnational intimidation campaigns.

As the trial before the London jury proceeds, further developments will unfold regarding the liability of the three defendants under the National Security Act.