Iranian men guilty of spying after plan to target UK journalists and lawyer

Surveillance of UK targets

Sepahvand and Manesh were given documents containing photographs of the targets, their work addresses, car details and the names of their pets. They used ChatGPT to conduct further research.

Sepahvand carried out surveillance and reconnaissance in preparation for violence against several people in the UK. The prosecution said Manesh helped with planning.

Claims about the assignment

Sepahvand said he took part in the spying because he feared the consequences of refusing. The prosecution described that explanation as “entirely bogus.” Evidence at trial indicated that Sepahvand sometimes felt mistreated by his Iranian handlers, who had not paid him.

Police highlight case details

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans, the senior national co-ordinator for Counter-Terrorism Policing, said this was the first state threat case in which ChatGPT case search history had been presented. A prosecution representative said Sepahvand was willing to move beyond surveillance and commit serious violence against the targets. He said the cases showed Iranian intelligence’s willingness to use proxies against critics of the regime abroad.