World News

Two Iranian men convicted in London over spying for Tehran

Woolwich Crown Court jurors found Mostafa Sepahvand and Farhad Javadi Manesh guilty, while a third defendant was acquitted.

Published Nov 12, 2026 · 13:57 UTC2 reports

The short version

Jurors at Woolwich Crown Court convicted Mostafa Sepahvand and Farhad Javadi Manesh of assisting a foreign intelligence service.[BBC News · ABC News]
Court reporting says the men were tasked by Iran's Revolutionary Guard with monitoring their targets, who were critics of the Iranian regime.[BBC News · ABC News]
Reporting names the targets as Iran International journalists Mojtaba Pourmohsen and Kambiz Hosseini, plus Jonathan Turner of UK Lawyers for Israel.[BBC News · ABC News]
A third defendant, Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, was acquitted, and prosecutors called Sepahvand's fear-based defense baseless; sentencing was not reported.[BBC News · ABC News]

Mostafa Sepahvand and Farhad Javadi Manesh were convicted at Woolwich Crown Court of assisting a foreign intelligence service.[BBC News · ABC News]
A third defendant, Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, was acquitted of the charge against him.[BBC News · ABC News]
Reported surveillance targets included Iran International journalists Mojtaba Pourmohsen and Kambiz Hosseini, and UK Lawyers for Israel founding member Jonathan Turner.[BBC News · ABC News]
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans said it was the first time ChatGPT case search history had been presented in a state threat case.[BBC News]
Prosecutors said Sepahvand was willing to go beyond surveillance to commit serious violence against targets.[ABC News]

Sepahvand claimed he took part out of fear of the consequences of refusing, but prosecutors rejected this claim as baseless; the dispute is unresolved in the reporting.[BBC News]
Sentencing dates and outcomes were not reported in the available coverage.[BBC News · ABC News]

Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.