Two convicted of spying for Iran after carrying out surveillance on UK Jewish lawyer
Mostafa Sepahvand and Farhad Javadi Manesh were found to have targeted Jonathan Turner, CEO of UKLFI, as well as journalists for the Iran International TV channel
A British Jewish lawyer has described feeling “pleased and relieved” after two men who carried out surveillance on targets in the UK, including against him, were convicted of spying for Iran.
Jonathan Turner, Chief Executive of UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) was one of a number of individuals spied on by Mostafa Sepahvand, 41 and Farhad Javadi Manesh, 46, between August 2024 and March 2025. Other targets included Mojtaba Pourmohsen and Kambiz Hosseini, journalists for Iran International, a TV channel highly critical of the Iranian regime, and a media production professional.
On Thursday, Sepahvand and Manesh were found to be working on behalf of the Iranian state and convicted of assisting a foreign intelligence service, contrary to the National Security Act 2023, following a trial at Woolwich Crown Court. Sepahvand was also found guilty of engaging in conduct, namely surveillance, reconnaissance and open-source research, intending to commit acts, namely serious violence, against a person in the UK. A third defendant, Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 57, was acquitted of all offences against him.
Speaking in the wake of the convictions, Jonathan Turner said: “I am pleased and relieved that the two spies have been convicted. I am very grateful to the police and the Crown Prosecution Service for investigating the case and bringing the prosecution – and more generally for all the efforts of the police to keep us safe.
“However the matters revealed in the trial are a reminder that Iran is a really serious threat to many people in the Middle East – not just Israelis but Arabs as well – and also to people in Britain, including on the streets of our capital. No one should under-estimate the seriousness of this threat and the importance of efforts to thwart it.”
The Crown Prosecution Service said that videos, images and text messages found on devices showed Sepahvand carrying out surveillance on targets’ homes and work addresses in order to locate other journalists associated with Iran International.
The CPS statement, published on Thursday, said that “having been promised tens of thousands of pounds in pay, Sepahvand led the contact with handlers in Iran while Manesh was feeding information, photographs and videos through to Sepahvand.
“Cell-site location data later placed him in a particular area in London in late 2024 when he was conducting surveillance on a separate target.
“A number of photographs, Google searches and addresses were found on Sephavand’s mobile indicating that he was searching for information on a specific target who had already left their home due to security concerns and temporarily moved into a hotel in west London.
“A message sent by Sepahvand to his contact in Iran showed him asking for £150,000 to ‘finish [the target] off’ once they had been found.”
The police also said Sepahvand believed that the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) would “fix” his previous conviction in Iran for theft.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans, Senior National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP), said: “It is clear the arrests of these two men by Counter Terrorism Policing officers prevented serious violence from being inflicted on one or more individuals in the UK.
“Following the arrests, the investigation team worked diligently and quickly to translate into English thousands of messages in Farsi and then used mobile phone cell site data to build a compelling record of the surveillance.”
Evans went on to say that “the threat from hostile states to the UK is increasing and Iran continues to adapt its approach to using ‘proxies’, we have seen examples of people who fly into the country to carry out criminal activity and then leave shortly afterwards, to using British nationals or, in this case, Iranian nationals with settled immigration status… As demonstrated in recent cases across the UK, Counter terrorism policing officers are working relentlessly to arrest those responsible for state sponsored criminality. Using the National Security Act, we can ensure those arrested for these crimes face charges that can lead to substantial prison sentences following conviction.”
Frank Ferguson, Head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division said: “This was a calculated operation to spy on those critical of the Iranian regime.
“Sepahvand and Manesh were promised rewards to send intelligence back to contacts in Iran and 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 CPS is alive to these ever-evolving threats and, through our work with Counter Terrorism Policing, stands ready to prosecute any hostile actors who might try and jeopardise our country’s security.”
The defendants will be sentenced at the Central Criminal Court on 17 December.