Two Iranian men convicted in London of spying on Iran International journalists

Two Iranian men have been convicted in Britain of carrying out surveillance on dissident journalists on behalf of Iranian intelligence, The Times of Israel reported. The verdicts were delivered at Woolwich Crown Court. Mostafa Sepahvand, 41, was found guilty on two counts, and Farhad Javadi Manesh, 46, was convicted on one count, in a case brought under Britain's National Security Act. A third defendant, Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 57, was acquitted on every charge.

According to the prosecution's case as reported by The Times of Israel, the targets were journalists employed by Iran International, a Persian-language television broadcaster critical of the government in Tehran. Prosecutors said the surveillance ran from August 2024 to March 2025 and was conducted for Iran's foreign intelligence service, with the aim of attacking the journalists "as retribution for their criticism of the Iranian regime." British police described the case as a reflection of growing Iranian activity, the outlet reported. The Jerusalem Post likewise carried the convictions, describing the targets as journalists based in Britain, and Israeli broadcaster N12's foreign desk and Ynet carried the news as brief alerts.

Who the journalists work for

Iran International broadcasts in Persian and is aimed at audiences inside Iran and in the Iranian diaspora. Its coverage is critical of the Islamic Republic's leadership, which is why the reports describe its staff as dissident journalists. Persian-language outlets based outside Iran are among the few sources of news for Iranians that operate beyond the reach of the authorities in Tehran, and Iranian officials have long regarded them as hostile. In this case, prosecutors alleged that the channel's journalists were watched specifically because of what they had reported and said about the Iranian government.

The court and the law

Woolwich Crown Court sits in south-east London. Crown Courts in England and Wales hear the most serious criminal cases. The court is frequently used for trials involving terrorism and national security.

The defendants were prosecuted under the National Security Act, a British law that covers espionage, sabotage and covert activity carried out for a foreign state. It gives prosecutors offences aimed at people who assist a foreign intelligence service, rather than relying on older and narrower espionage legislation. The reports do not specify the exact wording of each charge on which the two men were convicted.

The verdicts in brief

• Mostafa Sepahvand, 41: guilty of two offences.
• Farhad Javadi Manesh, 46: guilty of one offence.
• Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 57: acquitted of all charges.

Why Israeli outlets are following the case

The story was picked up quickly by several Israeli news organisations. N12 first reported in a short item that two Iranian men had been convicted in Britain of assisting Iranian intelligence, and then updated the alert to say the conviction concerned spying on regime opponents who work as journalists. Ynet issued a similar alert. Israeli readers follow Iranian intelligence activity abroad closely, since Iran is Israel's principal regional adversary and its operations against critics and perceived enemies outside its borders are a recurring subject in the Israeli press.

The British police assessment, as relayed by The Times of Israel, frames the case not as an isolated incident but as part of a broader increase in activity by Iran. The reports do not detail what that wider activity consists of, and they do not cite other cases.

What the reports do not say

None of the reports gives a date for sentencing or indicates what penalties the two convicted men face. They do not name the journalists who were watched, describe what form the surveillance took, or say whether any attack was attempted. No response from the Iranian government or from Iran International has been reported, and the reports do not explain the basis on which the third defendant was acquitted.