London, November 13, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) welcomes the conviction on Thursday of two Iranian men found guilty of spying on London-based journalists working for Iran International, a Persian-language broadcaster repeatedly targeted by the Iranian authorities.
In one of several recent trials related to attacks on Iran International, Mostafa Sepahvand, 41, and Farhad Javadi Manesh, 46, were found to be working on behalf of the Iranian state and convicted of assisting a foreign intelligence service, contrary to the UK’s National Security Act 2023. Sepahvand was also found guilty of engaging in conduct, namely surveillance, reconnaissance, and open-source research, intending to commit serious violence against a person in the UK.
In a six-week trial in Woolwich Crown Court, it emerged that the men were tasked by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) with monitoring targets who included journalists Mojtaba Pourmohsen and Kambiz Hosseini, as well as a lawyer and a media production professional. They are expected to be sentenced on December 17.
“The shocking evidence presented in this trial once again shows the lengths Iran is prepared to go to in order to silence journalists, wherever they are in the world,” said Fiona O’Brien, CPJ’s regional director for Europe and Central Asia. “Iranian journalists working from exile — who provide essential reporting for audiences Iran would rather keep in the dark — experience an intolerable level of threat every day. While it’s encouraging to see the perpetrators of crimes against them being held accountable, those who paid and instructed them must also be brought to justice.”
According to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), videos, images and text messages showed Sepahvand carried out surveillance on targets’ homes and work addresses, in order to locate other journalists linked to Iran International.
Having been promised tens of thousands of pounds, Sepahvand led the contact with handlers in Iran while Manesh was feeding information, photographs, and videos through to Sepahvand. One message sent by Sepahvand to his contact in Iran showed him asking for £150,000 (around US$200,000) to “finish [the target] off” once they had been found.
“This was a calculated operation to spy on those critical of the Iranian regime,” said Frank Ferguson, head of the CPS’ Special Crime and Counter Terrorism division. “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.”
Exiled Iranian journalists have long been targeted for their work, facing physical and online attacks, sanctions, judicial proceedings, and the harassment of their family members back in Iran. London — which is home to two major Persian-language broadcasters, Iran International and BBC Persian — has been a particular hotspot for transnational repression.
While Iran has accused both Iran International and BBC Persian of being terrorist organisations, it has denied directly targeting the broadcasters’ journalists.
In the UK, however, several people have now been jailed for their roles in targeting Iran International journalists. In 2023, a Chechen-born Austrian national was convicted of conducting surveillance on Iran International premises and sentenced to three years and six months in jail. Earlier this year, two Romanians were sentenced to 12 and eight years in jail respectively for their role in the stabbing of Iran International presenter Pouria Zeraati in 2024.
In a separate case which is expected to be heard in the courts next year, Greek citizen Ioannis Aidinidis, 46, has been charged with surveillance of an Iran International journalist. And there are also ongoing court proceedings linked to an arson attack on the broadcaster’s premises in April.
Following the latest verdict, Iran International spokesman Adam Baillie said the broadcaster was grateful for the continued vigilance of police. “The Woolwich trial has ended, but today’s verdicts don’t make the lives of our journalists any safer so long as the Islamic Republic of Iran continues its campaign of death threats and violence against them,” he told CPJ.
Manesh was acquitted of a separate charge that he conducted surveillance intending to facilitate serious violence by others. A third defendant, Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 57, was acquitted of all charges and discharged by the court.