Two illegal migrants have been found guilty of spying for Iran at Woolwich Crown Court. Mostafa Sepahvand, who arrived in the back of a lorry, and small boat arrival Farhad Manesh were convicted of helping Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC) and conducting surveillance on targets including Iran International reporters Mojtaba Pourmohsen and Kambiz Hosseini, as well as Jonathan Turner, a founder member of UK Lawyers for Israel.
Surveillance details and threats
The men compiled an astonishing level of detail on their targets, including their home addresses, their workplaces and the names of their pets. Detectives revealed that in messages to his contacts in Iran about one of the targets, Sepahvand referenced 'finishing him off'. He was partly motivated by the promise of £150,000 from his contacts in the IRGC, and he also expected the IRGC to 'fix' his conviction in Iran for theft.
Sepahvand took a leading role and would pass on surveillance instructions to Manesh. He frequently messaged Iranian phone numbers of individuals linked to the IRGC. Sepahvand admitted he had carried out the surveillance on behalf of the IRGC, but claimed it had been done under duress.
Official statements on the threat
Counter-terrorism chiefs said Iran is hiring nationals with settled immigration statuses to carry out conspiracies on their behalf. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans, Senior National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP), said: "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. People are often tasked via social media with the promise of large amounts of money, as seen in this case."
Frank Ferguson, chief Crown prosecutor of the CPS'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."
Verdict and sentencing
The targets of the surveillance were two journalists working for the media organisation Iran International, a lawyer working for UK Lawyers for Israel and a media production professional. A third man, Shapoor Noori, also a small boat migrant, was cleared after jurors deliberated for 19 hours. The two convicted spies will be sentenced on December 17.
