Britain and Iran summoned each other's diplomats in London and Tehran on Monday after British authorities charged three Iranian nationals under a national security law following a major counterterrorism investigation.
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Britain said it had summoned Iranian Ambassador Seyed Ali Mousavi to appear at its foreign office, while Iran summoned the British charge d'affaires in Tehran over the arrests of its nationals, calling the accusations "false claims."
The three men—Mostafa Sepahvand, 39, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 44, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 55—were charged Saturday in a London court with assisting a foreign intelligence service. Police allege they conducted surveillance on journalists affiliated with Iran International, a UK-based outlet critical of the Iranian government, between August 2024 and February 2025. The news channel has been banned in Iran and labeled a terrorist group by authorities there.
The suspects, who arrived in the UK between 2016 and 2022 and claimed asylum, allegedly plotted violence against individuals linked to the broadcaster. According to UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, the case is part of a broader pattern of state-linked threats. “The Iranian regime poses an unacceptable threat to our domestic security which cannot continue,” Cooper said in Parliament on Monday. “We will not tolerate growing state-backed threats on UK soil.”
Iran, for its part, denounced the arrests as politically driven and warned the UK against “unconstructive behavior” that could further strain diplomatic ties.
Four other Iranians were arrested earlier this month in a separate case. Police said on Saturday that they had been released but that the investigation was still ongoing.
The charges come at a time of intense scrutiny of suspected Tehran-backed activity in Britain, with London recently placing Iran on the highest tier of its foreign influence register.
"The UK Government is clear that protecting national security remains our top priority and Iran must be held accountable for its actions," Britain's Foreign Office said.
British diplomat has been summoned to explain arrest
Iranian state media reported that the British diplomat had been summoned to provide an official explanation for the arrest of Iranian citizens.
"The responsibility for the inappropriate effects of such actions, which appear to be motivated by political motives to exert pressure on Iran, will lie with the British government," state media quoted a foreign ministry official as saying.