Pair’s spying conviction shows Iranian intelligence willing to use proxies – CPS

Detailed summary

Mostafa Sepahvand, 41, and Farhad Javadi Manesh, 46, were found guilty of engaging in conduct likely to assist Tehran’s intelligence service.

The convictions of two asylum seekers for spying for Iran show its “willingness to use proxies to target the regime’s critics abroad”, prosecutors have said.

Mostafa Sepahvand, 41, was also found guilty of carrying out surveillance and reconnaissance between August 2024 and March last year in a bid to inflict violence on “subjects” in the UK.

Sepahvand and Farhad Javadi Manesh, 46, both Iranian, were convicted of engaging in conduct likely to assist Iran’s intelligence service, despite Manesh having claimed he did not know he was working to assist the Middle Eastern country.

Sepahvand arrived in the UK on a lorry in 2016, while Manesh came to the country in a small boat in 2019. Both have temporary leave to remain.

The “subjects” included journalists for London-based Persian broadcaster Iran International, Mojtaba Pourmohsen and Kambiz Hosseini, and a founder member of UK Lawyers for Israel, Jonathan Turner.

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Three defendants who faced a trial at Woolwich Crown Court were accused of visiting addresses linked to their targets, taking photos and videos, and using platforms such as ChatGPT to research them online.

The prosecution said Sepahvand intended to physically carry out a “violent attack” against at least one of the targets.

Sepahvand lent forward and held his head in his hands when he was found guilty on Thursday following 19 hours and nine minutes of jury deliberations.

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