Two Iranian nationals have been convicted of spying in the UK after planning a violent attack on targets they had been surveilling. Mostafa Sepahvand, 41, and Farhad Javadi Manesh, 46, were found guilty on Thursday following a trial at Woolwich Crown Court.
Surveillance and AI-Assisted Research
Between August 2024 and March last year, the two men conducted reconnaissance as part of a bid to inflict violence on "subjects" in the UK. These subjects included journalists for London-based Persian broadcaster Iran International, Mojtaba Pourmohsen and Kambiz Hosseini, and a founder member of UK Lawyers for Israel, Jonathan Turner.
The defendants visited addresses linked to their targets, took photos and videos, and used platforms such as ChatGPT to research them online.
Prosecution Case and Verdict
The prosecution said Sepahvand intended to physically carry out a "violent attack" against at least one of the targets, while Manesh assisted in planning. Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 57, was cleared of the same charge.
