Diplomatic Friction Grows as UK Charges 3 With Spying for Iran
Tensions between Iran and the UK flared over the weekend after Tehran summoned the British charge d’affaires to protest the recent arrests of several Iranian nationals on espionage charges. The diplomatic summons came in response to a UK police announcement that three men had been charged under the National Security Act with spying for Iranian intelligence between August 2024 and February 2025.
With the British ambassador absent, Shahram Ghazi-Zadeh, who heads the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s Third Western Europe Department, delivered Tehran’s message. He accused the UK of acting on “unrealistic” allegations and demanded clarification on the legal grounds for the arrests. “This move lacks justification, is politically motivated, and appears designed to exert pressure on Iran,” Ghazi-Zadeh said.
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The Iranian official further criticized British authorities for failing to promptly notify Iran’s embassy in London and for denying consular access to the detainees. He warned that such behavior violates international norms, including the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. “Iran has always acted responsibly and in line with international law,” he insisted, pushing back on the suggestion that Tehran was behind the alleged espionage plot.
British police identified the three charged men as Mostafa Sepahvand, Farhad Javadi Manesh, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori. Their arrests followed an earlier investigation into an alleged plot targeting “specific premises” in the UK, though officials have yet to reveal further details.
Iran’s protest suggests that fallout from the case could complicate already-strained UK-Iran relations, especially as broader diplomatic efforts in the region remain fragile.
