After three Iranians were accused of surveillance in the UK, Britain and Iran called each other’s envoys.
Three Iranian men were arrested on May 3 and appeared in court in London on Saturday on charges of surveillance for the Islamic Republic.
Iran’s IRNA news agency said the UK alleged D’Affaire was asked to explain what it said was “unreasonable” and “politically motivated” arrests. The British Foreign Ministry then responded on Monday to summon Tehran’s ambassador to the UK.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the UK would “not tolerate the threat of state support on British soil”.
“I can confirm that the Iranian ambassador has been summoned, [Foreign Secretary David Lammy] “Graising Iranian Foreign Minister with Iranian Foreign Minister, the UK will not accept any threats from Iranian states,” she said in parliament on Monday.
She added that the government will draft a new ban to cover state threats.
She said they will create “stronger powers than the current National Security Act, allowing us to limit the activities and operations of foreign state-supported organizations in the UK”.
The Foreign Ministry said the government “is clear that protecting national security remains our top priority and Iran must be responsible for its actions.”
“this [ambassador] Following the announcement this weekend, the subpoena said three Iranian nationals were accused of conducting potential assistance to foreign intelligence agencies. ”
According to Metropolitan Police, the alleged espionage took place between August 2024 and February 2025.
Police have identified the suspects as Mostafa Sepahvand, 39, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 44, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 55, both living in London.
The Metropolitan Metropolis said the fourth man was arrested on May 9 as part of the investigation but was acquitted.
The three men accused arrived in the UK between 2016 and 2022 and were granted temporary leave to retain asylum.
They allegedly conducted surveillance to locate journalists related to Iran’s International, whose reports criticized Iran’s current regime. It is banned as a terrorist organization in Iran.
Home Secretary Cooper said the allegations against Iranian nationals were accompanied by “a series of serious problems”, including “an increase in Iran-linked actions on British land” and an increase in “nearly 50% of the year” of threat investigations by MI5 states.
“The Iranian regime poses an unacceptable threat to our domestic security,” she said.
From L to R: Mostafa Sepahvand, Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori and Farhad Javadi Manesh [Julia Quenzler]
Five other Iranian men were also arrested on May 5 in London, Swanton, Stockport, Rochdale and Manchester as part of another counter-terrorism investigation.
Police said that while the investigation “stay active and ongoing,” four people detained for suspected preparations for terrorist acts were released.
The fifth person was released earlier on bail until the unspecified date of May.
