Two men found guilty over Iranian attempts to ‘eliminate’ UK-based journalists
Also reported by BBC Top Stories
Summary
A UK court found Mostafa Sepahvand and Farhad Javadi Manesh guilty of conduct likely to assist Iran’s intelligence services. Prosecutors said the men surveilled journalists and another target in the UK as part of a plan to carry out violence; Sepahvand discussed a £150,000 payment for an attack, which he denied intending to carry out.Key Facts
- The defendants are Mostafa Sepahvand, 41, and Farhad Javadi Manesh, 46.
- The court heard that they carried out surveillance and reconnaissance from August 2024 to March 2025.
- Their targets included Iran International journalists Mojtaba Pourmohsen and Kambiz Hosseini, and UK Lawyers for Israel founder member Jonathan Turner.
- The men visited addresses linked to targets, took photos and videos, and researched them online using tools including ChatGPT.
- Prosecutors said Sepahvand used ChatGPT to find Pourmohsen’s home address and communicated with a handler identified as an IRGC commander called Amin.
- Sepahvand said in a voice note that he expected £150,000 to “finish” a target, which prosecutors said referred to killing a journalist.
- Hosseini and his family received threats, and Hosseini left his home and stopped working as a stand-up comedian.
- Sepahvand denied intending to carry out a killing and denied plotting to kill Turner; Manesh said he photographed the Iran International building because he thought it was beautiful.
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