LONDON (AP) – British police said on Saturday they have charged three Iranian men with spying offenses after an investigation by counterterror detectives.
The Metropolitan Police force said Mostafa Sepahvand, 39, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 44, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 55, were charged with “engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service” – that of Iran – between Aug. 14, 2024 and Feb. 16, 2025.
All three men were living in London after entering the U.K. through unauthorized means between 2016 and 2022. They have been in custody since their arrests on May 3 and are due to appear in court later Saturday.
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.
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 U.K.’s counter-terrorism 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.”
Police did not identify the defendants’ target.
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.
