Two Iranian Men Convicted of Spying on London Journalists for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards

Updated 14 Nov 2026, 08:10 · First published 14 Nov 2026

Two Iranian men living in London have been convicted of spying for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) after carrying out surveillance on journalists from Iran International and a lawyer. Mostafa Sepahvand, 41, of St John’s Wood, and Farhad Manesh, 46, of Kensal Rise, were found guilty at Woolwich Crown Court following a six-week trial.

Who were they spying on?

Between August 2024 and March 2025 the men carried out surveillance, reconnaissance and online research on two journalists working for London-based Persian-language broadcaster Iran International, a lawyer working for UK Lawyers for Israel and a media production professional.

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Briefing documents found on their phones included photographs of the targets, their workplace addresses, details of their vehicles and even information about their pets.

What did the court hear?

Prosecutors said Sepahvand led the operation, passed surveillance instructions to Manesh and was in frequent contact with Iranian phone numbers linked to the IRGC. He was reportedly promised £150,000 and expected the regime to make a theft conviction he had in Iran go away. In one voice note he talked about “finishing off” someone.

Sepahvand admitted carrying out the surveillance for the IRGC but claimed he had acted under duress. Manesh told the jury he had taken the photographs because he was looking for somewhere new to live. The jury rejected both explanations on the IRGC charge.

The three men were arrested at their homes on 3 May 2025. Detectives went through 534GB of data and translated thousands of messages from Farsi, using phone location data to rebuild a timeline of the surveillance.

What police said

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans, Senior National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing, warned that hostile states use criminal “proxies” to carry out this kind of work, saying “the proxy takes on all the risk” and that such people “will often only receive a fraction, if any, of the promised financial reward”.

Anyone with concerns about suspicious activity can report it in confidence to the police at gov.uk/ACT or by calling 0800 789 321.

Sources: Metropolitan Police / Counter Terrorism Policing London; Woolwich Crown Court.