Two Iranian men, Mostafa Sepahvand, 41, and Farhad Javadi Manesh, 46, have been found guilty in a London court of spying on journalists and a lawyer in Britain. The men were convicted of engaging in conduct likely to assist Tehran's intelligence services and the Revolutionary Guards.
The pair were hired through social media and promised rewards to send intelligence back to Iran. They carried out surveillance and reconnaissance between August 2024 and March last year, targeting reporters for a Persian-language television station critical of the Iranian government.
Prosecutors stated that the men acted in an effort to inflict violence on their targets as part of a plan to eliminate them. One of the men was specifically convicted of planning a violent attack against the reporters.
British police said the case reflects increasing activity by Iran. It is the latest case involving foreign spy services ordering surveillance and sabotage in Britain.