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Three men have appeared in court charged under the National Security Act on suspicion of assisting the Iranian foreign intelligence service.
Mostafa Sepahvand, 39, of St John’s Wood, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 44, of Kensal Rise, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 55, of Ealing, appeared before Westminster magistrates court on Saturday.
The three defendants spoke through a Farsi interpreter at the brief court hearing to confirm their names, dates of birth and addresses.
No pleas were entered by any of the men, who were all wearing grey sweatshirts, with Sepahvand attending in a wheelchair and Noori hobbling into the dock.
Scotland Yard said a counter-terrorism investigation had led to three Iranian men being charged for engaging in conduct likely to assist the foreign intelligence service between 14 August 2024 and 16 February 2025. They were arrested on Saturday 3 May.
Sepahvand was also charged with engaging in conduct; surveillance, reconnaissance and open-source research, intending to commit serious violence against a person in the UK.
Manesh and Noori have also been charged with engaging in surveillance and reconnaissance, with the intention of committing serious violence against a person in the UK.
Another man, arrested on Friday 9 May under the National Security Act, was released without charge on Thursday.
They were remanded into custody and will appear for a preliminary hearing at the Old Bailey on 6 June.
The district judge Annabel Pilling told the defendants: “I’m sending your case to the central criminal court.
“There will be a trial in due course before a judge and jury if you plead not guilty.
“The next stage will be a preliminary hearing before the specialist judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb on 6 June.”
The home secretary, Yvette Cooper, said Iran must be “held to account for its actions”.
Cooper said: “I want to thank the police and security services for their continuing work on this very serious investigation, and for their immense dedication to protecting our national security and the safety of our communities.
“The charges that have been laid against these three individuals must now take their course through the criminal justice system, and nothing must be done to prejudice the outcome of those proceedings.
“But we will also take separate action to address the very serious wider issues raised by this case. The police have confirmed that the foreign state to which these charges relate is Iran, and Iran must be held to account for its actions.
“We must also strengthen our powers to protect our national security as we will not tolerate growing state threats on our soil.
“Protecting national security is the first duty of government. The police and security services have our continued support in their vital work, and we will take whatever action is needed to tackle the complex threats we face and keep our country and our people safe.”
Commander Dominic Murphy, from the Met’s counter-terrorism command, said: “These are extremely serious charges under the National Security Act, which have come about following what has been a very complex and fast-moving investigation.
“Since the men were arrested two weeks ago, detectives have been working around the clock and we have worked closely with colleagues in the CPS to reach this point. We have been in contact with the individuals directly affected, and we continue to provide them with support.
“Now that these men have been charged I would urge people not to speculate about this case, so that the criminal justice process can run its course.”
Frank Ferguson, the head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s special crime and counter-terrorism division, said: “Following a review of the evidence provided by the Metropolitan Police Service’s counter terrorism command, we have authorised criminal charges against three Iranian nationals.”
