Three Iranian men have gone on trial at Woolwich Crown Court accused of conducting surveillance on UK-based journalists and others in an alleged plot linked to Iran’s foreign intelligence service. The defendants deny charges under the UK National Security Act, while prosecutors allege the activity was intended to facilitate serious violence and intimidate critics of the Iranian government.
The case opened in London on 6 October 2026 against Mostafa Sepahvand, 41, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 46, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 57. The charges concern alleged conduct between August 2024 and March 2025.
What the prosecution alleges
Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones told jurors that the men had investigated people connected with Iran International, a London-based Persian-language satellite channel critical of Tehran. The prosecution says the defendants visited addresses associated with journalists and recorded photographs and video footage.
The individuals identified in the prosecution case include Iran International journalists Mojtaba Pourmohsen and Kambiz Hosseini, as well as Jonathan Turner, a founding member of UK Lawyers for Israel.
According to the prosecution, the surveillance was intended to prepare an attack that Sepahvand would carry out. The alleged objective was to expose one or more of those targeted to serious violence, both as retaliation for criticism of the Iranian government and as an attempt to frighten others into silence.
The prosecution also referred to the history of threats against prominent critics of Iran, including the 1989 death sentence issued against author Salman Rushdie by Iran’s then-leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Rushdie survived a serious stabbing in New York in 2022.
Defendants deny the charges
All three defendants deny the two charges brought under the National Security Act. The prosecution says they have accepted that they travelled to relevant locations and took images, but dispute the purpose and significance of their actions.
Reports from the opening of the trial indicate that Javadi Manesh and Noori say they did not know their conduct would assist Iranian intelligence. Sepahvand is reported to have acknowledged awareness of that possibility but claims he acted under coercion or threat.
These are allegations presented by the prosecution. The jury has yet to determine whether the defendants are guilty, and the trial will examine the evidence, the defendants’ explanations and the legal meaning of the alleged conduct.
Why the National Security Act matters
The case is being brought under the UK National Security Act, legislation designed to give British authorities additional powers to respond to activity directed by or benefiting foreign states.
The law forms part of the United Kingdom’s wider response to alleged foreign interference, espionage and hostile-state activity. Its use in this prosecution reflects the distinction between traditional espionage offences and conduct that may support a foreign intelligence service without necessarily involving the disclosure of classified government information.
The charges do not amount to a finding that Iran or the defendants committed the alleged conduct. Any criminal responsibility will depend on the evidence and the eventual verdict.
Wider UK-Iran tensions
The trial is taking place during a period of heightened tension between the United Kingdom and Iran. British authorities have repeatedly expressed concern about threats directed at Iranian dissidents, journalists and other critics living abroad.
For journalists working in exile, the case highlights the security risks associated with reporting on governments from outside their home countries. It also raises questions about the protection of media organisations, the safety of sources and the ability of foreign governments to intimidate opponents across borders.
The allegations have wider European significance because Iran-based threats and foreign interference concerns affect several countries where Iranian opposition figures, activists and media workers live. European governments have increasingly focused on transnational repression, surveillance and the use of intermediaries to target people abroad.
What happens next?
The trial will continue at Woolwich Crown Court. Prosecutors must prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt, while the defence will have the opportunity to challenge the evidence and present the defendants’ accounts.
Key issues for the jury are likely to include:
- What the defendants were doing when they visited the relevant locations and recorded images.
- Whether their conduct was intended to assist Iran’s foreign intelligence service.
- What they knew about the alleged purpose of the surveillance.
- Whether any claimed coercion or threat affects criminal responsibility.
- Whether the prosecution has established that the conduct was likely to assist a foreign intelligence service.
No verdict had been reported at the time the trial opened. Until the court reaches a decision, the allegations remain unproven.
Conclusion
The London prosecution places alleged Iranian foreign-intelligence activity and the safety of UK-based journalists at the centre of a significant national-security trial. The case will test how the UK’s National Security Act is applied to suspected surveillance carried out on behalf of a foreign power, while the jury must decide whether the evidence supports the charges against the three defendants.
