Mostafa Sepahvand and Farhad Manesh convicted for spying in London for Iran’s IRGC

Mostafa Sepahvand and Farhad Manesh convicted for spying in London for Iran’s IRGC.

Mostafa Sepahvand, 41, and Farhad Javadi Manesh, 46, were found guilty at Woolwich Crown Court on Thursday following a six-week trial. A third defendant, Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 57, was acquitted of all charges, according to AP. Supporting or assisting the organisation can carry a prison sentence of up to 14 years.

Sepahvand and Manesh are due to be sentenced at the Old Bailey, formally known as London’s Central Criminal Court, on December 17.

London’s Metropolitan Police said the case was the fourth in recent years involving a direct threat to journalists associated with Iran International. The force said it was continuing efforts to protect those targeted. Vicki Evans, a deputy assistant commissioner at the Metropolitan Police, said hostile-state threats against the UK were increasing and that Iran was changing how it used intermediaries to carry out operations.

The convictions relate to conduct intended to assist the IRGC, which the UK proscribed in July under new legislation aimed at addressing threats from foreign states. The case comes amid wider counterterrorism investigations into suspected Iranian-linked operations in Britain.

Police have examined possible connections between Iranian proxies and several incidents, including an arson attack earlier this year on four ambulances belonging to a Jewish community organisation in London.