Three Iranian nationals appear in court charged with spying offences

Three Iranian nationals have appeared in court charged with spying offences on behalf of Iran’s foreign intelligence service.

Mostafa Sepahvand, 39, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 44, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 55, appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on Saturday charged with offences under the National Security Act.

The three men all arrived in the UK by irregular means, including by small boats and a lorry, between 2016 and 2022.

Sepahvand, of St John’s Wood, Manesh, of Kensal Rise, and Noori, of Ealing, spoke through a Farsi interpreter at the brief court hearing to confirm their names, dates of birth and addresses.

No pleas were entered by the trio who were all wearing grey sweatshirts, with Sepahvand attending in a wheelchair and Noori hobbling into the dock.

They are all charged with engaging in conduct likely to assist the Iranian foreign intelligence service between August 14 2024 and February 16 2025.

Sepahvand is also charged with engaging in surveillance, reconnaissance and open-source research, intending to commit acts, namely serious violence against a person in the UK.

Manesh and Noori are further charged with engaging in surveillance and reconnaissance, with the intention that acts, namely serious violence against a person in the UK, would be committed by others.

The trio were remanded into custody and will next appear for a preliminary hearing at the Old Bailey on June 6.

District Judge Annabel Pilling told the defendants: “I’m sending your case to the Central Criminal Court.

“There will be a trial in due course before a judge and jury if you plead not guilty.

“The next stage will be a preliminary hearing before the specialist judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb on June 6.”

The three men were arrested on May 3, and five Iranian nationals were also arrested on that day in connection with an entirely separate investigation, with four of them remaining in custody after warrants of further detention were secured.

The four – a 29-year-old man in the Swindon area; a 46-year-old man in west London; a 29-year-old man in the Stockport area; and a 40-year-old man in the Rochdale area – were arrested on suspicion of preparation of a terrorist act, contrary to section five of the Terrorism Act 2006.

A fifth, a 24-year-old man in the Manchester area, was detained under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act before being bailed with conditions to an unspecified date in May.

The Government will strengthen national security powers after the three men were charged, the Home Secretary said.

Yvette Cooper said: “I want to thank the police and security services for their continuing work on this very serious investigation, and for their immense dedication to protecting our national security and the safety of our communities.

“The charges that have been laid against these three individuals must now take their course through the criminal justice system and nothing must be done to prejudice the outcome of those proceedings.

“But we will also take separate action to address the very serious wider issues raised by this case.

“The police have confirmed that the foreign state to which these charges relate is Iran, and Iran must be held to account for its actions.

“We must also strengthen our powers to protect our national security as we will not tolerate growing state threats on our soil.

“As part of that process we will publish next week the results of Jonathan Hall KC’s review into the application of our counter-terrorism framework to modern-day state threats.”