Iranians Who Came by Lorry and Small Boat Convicted of Spying for Tehran, as One Wanted £150,000 to ‘Finish Off’ a Journalist

News | By Matt, Editor

One came to Britain hidden in a lorry. The other came across the Channel on a small boat. Both claimed asylum, and today both were convicted of spying for Iran. One of them had asked his handlers for £150,000 to “finish off” a journalist.

Mostafa Sepahvand, 41, and Farhad Javadi Manesh, 46, were found guilty at Woolwich Crown Court of assisting Iran’s intelligence service under the National Security Act. Between August 2024 and March 2025 they watched the homes and workplaces of two Iran International journalists and Jonathan Turner, a founder member of UK Lawyers for Israel, the BBC reports.

Sepahvand was also convicted of surveillance with intent to commit serious violence; Manesh was cleared of a similar charge. Jurors saw a message telling him: “You are expected to hit or kill the journalist.” In a later voice note he said: “They pay the £150,000, and I’ll finish them off,” Sky News reported. He claimed he acted out of fear for his family; the jury rejected that.

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When the men were charged in May 2025, Westminster magistrates heard that Sepahvand arrived in 2016 concealed in a lorry and that Manesh came by boat in December 2019, claiming refugee status on religious grounds. Both were granted temporary leave to remain, the Telegraph reported. They arrived and claimed asylum under the last government.

A third man, Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 57, was cleared of all charges. Sepahvand and Manesh will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on 17 December.

Counter-terrorism police said it was the first time Iranian nationals had been convicted under the Act, and that the case “highlights the continuing and increasing threat to the UK from Iran”, Reuters reported. Nigel Farage said he had warned “multiple times” that “Iranian spies were breaking into the country illegally”.

I have said multiple times in and out of Parliament that Iranian spies were breaking into the country illegally.

The crisis in the channel is a national security threat. Why does no one listen?https://t.co/ShTiRPPu2f

— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) November 12, 2026

It comes a day after we reported that France refused up to half of some groups under the returns deal, and each small boat return cost £56,000.

Our view: the security services caught these two. But a man hidden in a lorry and a man off a dinghy both ended up with permission to stay, and the routes they used are still open. Every arrival should face proper security checks before being allowed to stay.

Should everyone who arrives by small boat or lorry face full security vetting before being allowed to stay? Vote below.

Sources

• Crown Prosecution Service, 12 November 2026: Convictions, the £150,000 message, sentencing date
• BBC News, 12 November 2026: Verdicts, targets, third man cleared
• Sky News via kmfm, 12 November 2026: Lorry and small boat arrivals, messages shown to jurors
• Evening Standard, 12 November 2026: Trial background
• Reuters (via The Globe and Mail), 12 November 2026: Counter Terrorism Policing statement
• The Telegraph, 17 May 2025: Arrival routes and leave to remain, as heard at Westminster magistrates’ court
• Nigel Farage on X, 12 November 2026: Reaction

Main image: Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, minister responsible for border security, at the Five Country Ministerial 2025, UK Home Office, CC BY 4.0; seized small-boat dinghy at Western Jet Foil, Dover, February 2024, Andy Taylor / Home Office, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons).