London, 17 May

Three Iranian men faced spying charges in a London court Saturday following an investigation by counterterror detectives.

Mostafa Sepahvand, 39, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 44, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 55, were charged with engaging in conduct likely to assist Iran's foreign intelligence service between 14 August, 2024 and 16 February, 2025.

All three men were living in London after entering the UK through unauthorised means between 2016 and 2022. They have been in custody since their arrests on 3 May.

Sepahvand was also charged with engaging in “surveillance, reconnaissance and open-source research,” intending to commit serious violence against a person in the United Kingdom.

The others are charged with engaging in surveillance and reconnaissance with the intention serious violence would be committed by others.

The three did not enter pleas during a brief hearing in Westminster Magistrates' Court. They confirmed their identities through a Farsi interpreter.

Police did not identify their intended target.

They were held in custody awaiting a hearing 6 June at the Central Criminal Court.

Britain's domestic intelligence service has warned of a growing threat from attackers linked to Tehran.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the government plans to publish a review next week of how to apply the UK's counterterrorism approach to state threats.

“Iran must be held to account for its actions,” Cooper said. “We must also strengthen our powers to protect our national security as we will not tolerate growing state threats on our soil.”

Commander Dominic Murphy of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command called the charges “extremely serious.”

A fourth man arrested in the same investigation was released without charge.