Three Iranian citizens accused of espionage and preparation of violent acts in the United Kingdom for the benefit of Iran were presented to Justice on Saturday, May 17, in London, the British government denounced “growing threats that emanate from the states” in its soil.
These men aged 39 to 55 years arrested two weeks ago are subject to “extremely serious accusations, brought after a quick and very complex investigation,” said the commander of the Anti -Terrorist of the Police of London, Dominic Murphy.
His accusation for “acts that will probably help a foreign intelligence service”, committed between August 2024 and February 2025, was announced on Saturday morning, followed by its appearance before a court in the British capital.
The three men, dressed in gray sweatshirt, did not declare whether they were guilty or not. They were placed in pretrial detention and will appear during a preliminary hearing in the Criminal Court of Old Bailey in London on June 6.
Journalists from Iranian Iran
“Iran must be responsible for their actions,” said Interior Minister Yvette Cooper, in a statement.
“We must strengthen our powers to protect our national security, because we will not tolerate the growing threats that emanate from the states on our soil,” he added.
Since the beginning of 2022, the United Kingdom has identified more than 20 plots supported by Iran, with potentially fatal threats for British citizens and residents of the United Kingdom, according to the government.
According to BBC, these men planned to attack journalists from Iran International, a private television channel based in London and classified as a Tehran terrorist organization.
In March 2024, his reporter Pouria Zaraati had been attacked with a knife near his home in London and had to be hospitalized for a leg injury.
Mostafa Sepahvand, 39, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 44 and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 55, inhabitants of London, were arrested on May 3 before being the object of a detention mandate under the National Security Law 2023.
This allows the police to arrest the suspected people to be involved “in a threat activity that emanates from a foreign power.”
Mostafa Sepahvand, who was in a wheelchair in the court, was accused of acts of surveillance or recognition “with the intention of committing acts of serious violence against a person in the United Kingdom,” said the police.
Farhad Javadi Manesh and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori were accused of similar reasons, but with the intention that this violence is “committed by others.”
The three arrived at the British floor “by irregular means, especially in small boats,” between 2016 and 2022, the government said.
Five Iranians arrested for preparing a terrorist act
A 31 -year -old Iranian was arrested on May 9, before being released without prosecuting last Thursday.
On May 3, five Iranian citizens were also arrested in London, Swindon (western London) and in the Manchester region as part of another anti -terrorist police investigation.
Suspicious of “preparation of a terrorist law”, four of these men aged 29 to 46 are still the object of detention mandates to an unknown date, while the fifth man was released on bail in May.
“The investigation is related to an alleged conspiracy aimed at a specific site,” police said. According to the British media, this is Israel’s embassy in London.
Tehran had “categorically” rejected any participation, and the head of the Iranian diplomacy, Abbas Araghchi, said his country was “ready to get involved to shed light on what really happened.”
London announced in early March at the beginning of March, its intelligence services and the guards of the revolution at the highest level of its new “first” government system to monitor “secret foreign influences.”
Then he took equivalent measures for all those who work for the Russian state in the United Kingdom. They will have to be registered by the summer, failing that they will incur a prison sentence.
London also ordered a lawyer, Jonathan Hall, who studies the adaptation of the “framework (legal) to combat terrorism with contemporary state threats”, who will broadcast his conclusions this week, Mrs. Cooper said.
Source: BFM TV
