A UK appeals court has upheld an earlier ruling ordering the seizure of a London property owned by the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) to help satisfy a $2.4 billion arbitration award in favor of an Emirati firm, Iranian media reported on Monday.
The property, known as the NIOC House, is located near the British Parliament and has been owned by Iran for around 50 years.
Brutalist in style, it became the headquarters of Iran's national oil company under the country's ousted Shah soon after it was completed in 1975 and reflects design elements of Westminster Abbey across the street.
Iran's diplomatic isolation has deepened as a lingering impasse over its disputed nuclear program prompted European states to trigger UN sanctions which resumed late last month, further squeezing Iran's beleaguered economy.
The slow-motion legal dispute which stretches back appears to have no relation to the current geopolitical standoff.
UAE-based Crescent Petroleum said in its complaint that NIOC illegally transferred the property to a separate entity the Oil Industry Pension and Welfare Fund after the international arbitration ruling, in what the company called an attempt to keep assets out of creditors’ reach.
IRNA’s correspondent in London cited an informed source as saying that lawyers representing the Islamic Republic of Iran have filed an appeal against the latest ruling.
If the previous ruling is upheld, IRNA cited the source as saying, Iran’s lawyers can refer the case to the UK Supreme Court for review — a process that is usually lengthy and could take up to two years.
A lower UK court had already voided that transfer, describing it as a maneuver to prevent debt recovery. NIOC and the pension fund appealed the verdict, but the Court of Appeal dismissed their objections and affirmed that the building could be seized.
Judges found that the documents presented by NIOC to prove the pension fund’s ownership did not meet the necessary legal conditions, clearing the way for the property to be placed under judicial control.
The court said the building would remain under UK jurisdiction to partially offset the damages owed to Crescent Petroleum.
Dispute dates back over two decades
The ruling marks the latest turn in one of Iran’s longest and most politically charged energy disputes.
The Crescent case dates back to a 2001 contract between NIOC and Crescent Petroleum to supply 500 million cubic feet of sour gas per day from Iran’s Salman field. The deal, signed under then-Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, collapsed amid internal opposition in Tehran, prompting years of arbitration and litigation.
Iran was found liable for breaching the contract and was ordered to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. In recent years, Crescent has moved to enforce those awards by targeting Iranian state assets abroad.
The London property was valued at about £100 million ($125 million), Iranian media said.
The Iran daily, a state-run outlet, attributed the loss of NIOC assets to “political interference by those who cancelled the Crescent deal.”
NIOC has already lost another office in Rotterdam as part of enforcement actions, leaving the company without any active offices in Europe.
The reports cite export data allegedly taken from Concern Radio-Electronic Technologies (KRET), a subsidiary of Russia’s state-owned Rostec Corporation.
The documents, published online by hacker group Black Mirror in early October, list Iran under customer code “364” for a package of 48 Su-35 multirole fighters.
“The leaked tables show Iran’s Su-35 package valued at more than €5–6 billion once full airframe and weapons systems are included,” Defense Security Asia said.
The leak also included “48 heads-up display systems and electronic-warfare components, confirming the 48-aircraft figure linked to Iran’s order,” the report added.
A separate defense blog said the files contain “detailed pricing, delivery schedules, and export plans for advanced Sukhoi fighter jets destined for several foreign clients — including Iran, Algeria, and Ethiopia.”
The material, it said, was “published online on October 3 by the hacker collective Black Mirror, which claims to have accessed more than 300 internal documents from Rostec’s systems.”
Deliveries and local assembly plans
The leaked export tables outline a multi-year schedule, with shipments of avionics and electronic-warfare systems for the Iranian jets between 2024 and 2026.
Full aircraft deliveries are expected from 2026 through 2028.
Defense Security Asia wrote the leak “suggests Russia may go beyond simple export delivery -- offering semi-knocked-down assembly in Iran through a local aerospace partner, possibly under the Iran Aviation Industries Organization.”
Unverified details in the same tranche say Russian technicians from Sukhoi and KRET have been stationed in Iran since early 2024 to oversee assembly preparations.
“This arrangement could allow Iran to assemble 48 to 72 units over several years, creating its first near-indigenous fourth-plus-generation fighter production line since the 1970s,” the outlet said.
Iranian lawmakers confirm fighter and missile purchases
Iranian officials have recently discussed the arrival of Russian aircraft. Lawmaker Abolfazl Zohrevand said on October 1 that Russian MiG-29s had already entered Iran as what he called a short-term solution, adding that “for long-term solutions, Su-35s will gradually enter.”
He also said, “The HQ-9 system is entering substantially and the S-400 likewise.”
Another lawmaker, Fada Hossein Maleki, said in September that Iran’s general staff “is pursuing the purchase of air-defense systems from China and Russia.”
Moscow’s reliability questioned inside Iran
Some senior figures have voiced skepticism about Russia’s commitment. Mohammad Sadr, a member of Iran’s Expediency Council, said Moscow “was willing to sell S-400 systems to Turkey, a NATO member, but has still not provided them to Iran.”
“Russia has a particular inclination toward Israel and for a long time there has been talk of buying Su-35s, while Russia has built higher models, but even this it does not give us,” he added.
The conservative daily Farhikhtegan reported that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi recently carried a “message of reproach” from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to President Vladimir Putin over Moscow’s performance during the 12-day war.
If the leaked Rostec files are genuine, the Su-35 deal would mark Iran’s largest military procurement in decades, deepening its strategic dependence on Russia.
“The first shipment of imported wheat, part of a 30,000-ton import permit and weighing nearly 5,000 tons, has reached Amirabad port and will soon be transferred to provincial silos,” said the head of Mazandaran’s Grain and Commercial Services, as quoted by Tasnim.
The move follows sustained efforts by provincial authorities to diversify wheat supplies and improve food quality amid recurring drought and local production challenges. Officials said mixing imported grain with domestic wheat is expected to enhance flour quality across the province.
Caspian nations including Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan are among the region’s key grain producers.
Mazandaran officials also discussed tighter oversight of the flour and bread supply chain, including mandatory GPS and camera systems for flour transport vehicles to prevent diversion and ensure transparency, Tasnim said.
Provincial economic deputy governor Mohammad Ebrahim Toulaei added that Iran aims to strengthen local mills and improve the quality of subsidized bread, while providing loans to bakers for upgrading dual-fuel and backup power equipment.
Lennart Christian Jean-Pierre Le Monterles, described by officials as a German citizen holding French nationality, had been arrested in southern Iran on suspicion of espionage during the conflict.
He was tried by the Revolutionary Court in Bandar Abbas, Hormozgan province’s chief justice Mojtaba Ghasemi said.
The official added that although prosecutors had filed an indictment, the court concluded there was insufficient evidence to prove guilt. Under Iranian law, the prosecutor retains the right to appeal the decision.
According to Le Monde, the 19-year-old is about to leave Iran and will be repatriated to France in the coming hours.
The verdict comes amid reports about Iran’s treatment of foreign detainees. Just last month, a British couple, Craig and Lindsay Foreman, appeared in court in Tehran on similar espionage charges after being held since January.
Their family has described “inhumane conditions” and accused authorities of extracting confessions through intimidation — claims Iran denies.
Western governments and rights groups say Tehran routinely detains foreign nationals to gain political leverage in disputes with Europe and the United States, an accusation Iran rejects, saying such cases involve genuine security concerns.
Iran-France prisoner talks advance
Iran and France signaled progress on Monday in negotiations to exchange two French citizens held in Iran for an Iranian national detained in France.
Iran has detained French nationals Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris since 2022, while 18-year-old French-German cyclist Lennart Monterlos has been in custody since June.
France has repeatedly condemned their detention as arbitrary and accused Iran of subjecting them to harsh conditions in Tehran’s Evin prison -- allegations Tehran denies.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi suggested last month that the two could be exchanged for Mahdieh Esfandiari, an Iranian woman arrested in Lyon in February on charges of promoting terrorism through social media.
“The decision regarding the release of these two individuals and Mrs. Esfandiari is currently being reviewed by the competent authorities,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday, adding that the exchange could happen soon once procedures are completed.
Also on Monday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on France Inter radio that Paris had solid prospects of securing their release in the coming weeks, adding that France “remains fully mobilized and demands their immediate and unconditional release.”
In September, France withdrew its case against Iran at the International Court of Justice over consular access violations, a move widely interpreted as a gesture to facilitate a potential deal.
Iran has accused Kohler and Paris of spying for Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, charges both have denied.
The last prisoner swap between Iran and a European country came when Italy freed an Iranian national wanted by the United States for allegedly supplying Tehran with drone technology in exchange for an Italian journalist arrested in Iran.
Iran has in recent months repeatedly said that all espionage cases are handled through “legal and transparent” procedures, while maintaining that several Western intelligence networks have sought to infiltrate the country during periods of heightened regional tension.
