UK Court Convicts Two Iranians of Spying for IRGC as Police Footage Shows Dramatic Arrests
A British court has convicted two Iranian nationals of assisting Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) after prosecutors said they carried out surveillance on journalists and other individuals in London.
Mostafa Sepahvand, 41, and Farhad Javadi Manesh, 46, were found guilty at Woolwich Crown Court following a six-week trial. Prosecutors said the pair gathered photographs, videos, addresses, vehicle details and other information on targets linked to Iran International and UK Lawyers for Israel.
Sepahvand was also convicted of conducting surveillance and reconnaissance with the intention of facilitating serious violence against a person in the UK. Police said he had been promised up to £150,000 by contacts linked to the IRGC.
Footage released in connection with the case shows counter-terrorism officers arresting the suspects at their homes. The arrests, however, took place on May 3, 2025, rather than during the latest court proceedings.
British police described the case as the first conviction of Iranian nationals under the UK’s National Security Act 2023 and said the investigation had uncovered hundreds of gigabytes of messages, images, videos and other evidence.
A third Iranian defendant, Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, was acquitted of all charges. The convicted men are due to be sentenced at the Old Bailey on December 17.