Two Iranian nationals have been found guilty of conducting surveillance operations against journalists and legal professionals in the United Kingdom on behalf of Iranian intelligence. Mostafa Sepahvand, 41, and Farhad Javadi Manesh, 46, were convicted at Woolwich Crown Court on Thursday of assisting a foreign intelligence service. According to BBC News, Sepahvand was also convicted of preparing for a violent attack, while Manesh was acquitted of that separate charge.
The pair were tasked by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to monitor their targets, with Sepahvand intending to carry out what prosecutors described as a "violent attack" against at least one individual. A third defendant, Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 57, was acquitted of all charges. According to Reuters, the surveillance operation ran from August 2024 to March 2025 and was intended as retribution for the journalists' public criticism of Iran's government.
Both men, asylum seekers who had been granted temporary leave to remain in the UK, were provided with detailed intelligence packages containing photographs of their targets, work addresses, vehicle registration details and names of family pets. They utilised artificial intelligence tools, specifically ChatGPT, to conduct additional research on the individuals they were monitoring.
Who were the intended targets?
The surveillance operation focused on several individuals based in London. The primary targets included journalists Mojtaba Pourmohsen and Kambiz Hosseini, who work for the London-based Persian broadcaster Iran International. Jonathan Turner, a founding member of UK Lawyers for Israel, was also monitored, along with a media production professional. According to AP News, Sepahvand told an associate he would "finish off" one target in exchange for £150,000.
How did the investigation use new technology?
The case marked a significant development in counter-terrorism prosecutions. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans, the senior national co-ordinator for Counter-Terrorism Policing, highlighted that this was the first occasion on which ChatGPT search history had been presented as evidence in a state threat case. She noted that
"It's something we're beginning to see more of as AI tools become more widely available and people become more aware of them."The use of artificial intelligence in the surveillance operation underscores how foreign intelligence services are adapting their methods to exploit widely available technology.
What motivated the defendants?
Both men had been promised financial rewards for gathering and transmitting intelligence to their handlers in Iran. However, evidence presented at trial revealed significant tensions in their relationship with their Iranian supervisors. Sepahvand, in particular, expressed frustration at being mistreated by his handlers, who failed to provide the payments they had promised. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Evans observed that
"this is a trend we see in these types of cases where people get involved in work on behalf of foreign states and they're often promised money and lots of other things but they rarely receive what they've been offered."
Sepahvand claimed he had participated in the spying operation out of fear of consequences should he refuse his handlers' instructions. However, prosecutors dismissed this explanation as entirely without merit, arguing that the evidence demonstrated his willing participation and his readiness to escalate beyond surveillance to commit serious violence.
What did prosecutors say about the operation?
Frank Ferguson, of the Crown Prosecution Service's counter-terrorism division, characterised the case as demonstrating a broader pattern of Iranian intelligence activity. He stated that
"Sepahvand himself was willing to go beyond surveillance to commit serious violence against their targets. Thankfully, the defendants were stopped before any attack could take place. Cases like this show Iranian intelligence's willingness to use proxies to target the regime's critics abroad."
The conviction reflects growing concerns about Iran-related security threats in the UK. A House of Commons Library briefing published on 10 November identified physical threats to dissidents and other opponents of the Iranian regime as the UK's greatest current Iran-related threat, and noted that 50 arrests had been made in Iran-linked investigations during the year to October 2026.
What happens next?
Both Sepahvand and Manesh are scheduled to be sentenced in December 2026, according to Reuters. The sentencing will determine the length of imprisonment for their convictions under the National Security Act.
