Three Iranian men accused of working with Tehran’s intelligence services to target UK-based journalists pleaded not guilty during a preparatory hearing at the Central Criminal Court in London on Friday.
Mostafa Sepahvand, 39, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 44, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 55, appeared via video link from a high-security prison in south London.
The three Iranian nationals have been charged with engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service between 14 August 2024 and 16 February 2025.
Sepahvand has also been charged with engaging in conduct, namely surveillance, reconnaissance and open-source research, between 14 August 2024 and 16 February 2025, intending to commit acts, namely serious violence against a person in the United Kingdom.
Manesh and Noori have also been charged with engaging in conduct, namely surveillance and reconnaissance, with the intention that acts, namely serious violence against a person in the United Kingdom, would be committed by others.
The charges include collecting information and planning to commit acts of violence on British soil.
Their targets are allegedly staff members of Iran International.
At today’s hearing, Farhad Manesh’s application for bail was refused by the Judge, the Honourable Mrs Cheema-Grubb.
All three accused will be held in remand until the trial itself begins on October 5, 2026, at London’s Woolwich Crown Court.
The three are the first Iranian nationals to be prosecuted under the UK’s 2023 National Security Act, a law designed to counter threats from hostile states.
Iran International, founded in 2017, has reported escalating threats, particularly after the 2022 “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests. Its staff have reported death threats, harassment of relatives abroad, and attacks
Rights groups and the broadcaster accuse Iranian authorities of waging a sustained campaign against Iran International since its launch, including hacking attempts attributed to actors linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
