British police charge 3 Iranian men with spying after counterterror probe

British police have charged three Iranian men with spying offenses after an investigation by counterterror detectives

LONDON -- 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 live in London. 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.

Police did not identify the individual allegedly targeted.

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.

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