Britain: Two Iranians Convicted of Spying on Dissident Journalists

In depth

Two Iranian nationals were convicted in Britain of assisting Iranian intelligence. Mostafa Sepahvand, 41, and Farhad Javadi Mansh, 46, were found guilty at Woolwich Crown Court in south London. The two were recruited through social media and served as intermediaries for Iranian intelligence between August 2024 and February 2025.

Evidence presented by the prosecution showed that the two conducted physical surveillance and online research on two journalists of the opposition channel "Iran International" and one co-founder of "Lawyers for Israel UK." One of them offered to assassinate a journalist for £150,000 and even used ChatGPT to find out whether the police were monitoring him.

The two were arrested in May 2025 by the counter-terrorism unit of the London Metropolitan Police. The prosecution said the defendants were arrested before they managed to carry out an attack. Sentencing is expected next month.