The UK government has summoned Iran’s ambassador in response to three Iranian nationals being charged under the National Security Act.
The three men were charged with spying offences at Westminster Magistrates’ Court over the weekend.
Mostafa Sepahvand, 39, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 44, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 55, are alleged to have targeted journalists working for Iran International, an independent media organisation based in London.
Iran’s ambassador to the UK, Seyed Ali Mousavi, has now been summoned to the Foreign Office, the government said on Monday.
“The UK government is clear that protecting national security remains our top priority and Iran must be held accountable for its actions,” a statement read.
“The summons follows this weekend’s announcement which stated that three Iranian nationals had been charged with engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service.”
Iranian news agency, ISNA, reported on Sunday that Iran had summoned the UK ambassador in Tehran in protest over what it called the “unlawful baseless arrest of Iranian nationals”.
Sepahvand, Manesh and Noori are accused of “engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service” between August 2024 and February 2025, following an investigation by counter-terror police.
They are alleged to have arrived in the UK by “irregular means”, including small boats and a lorry, before claiming asylum.
Sepahvand is also charged with engaging in surveillance, reconnaissance and open-source research, intending to commit acts, namely serious violence against a person in the UK.
Manesh and Noori are further charged with engaging in surveillance and reconnaissance, with the intention that acts, namely serious violence against a person in the UK, would be committed by others.
‘Extremely serious’
Commander Dominic Murphy, from the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command, described the charges as “extremely serious”.
“Since the men were arrested two weeks…
