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British Police Charge 3 Iranian Men with Spying after Counterterror Probe

People carry shopping bags as they walk along Regent Street in London, Britain, 15 May 2025. EPA/TOLGA AKMEN
People carry shopping bags as they walk along Regent Street in London, Britain, 15 May 2025. EPA/TOLGA AKMEN
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British Police Charge 3 Iranian Men with Spying after Counterterror Probe

People carry shopping bags as they walk along Regent Street in London, Britain, 15 May 2025. EPA/TOLGA AKMEN
People carry shopping bags as they walk along Regent Street in London, Britain, 15 May 2025. EPA/TOLGA AKMEN

British police said on Saturday they have charged three Iranian men - under the National Security Act - with spying offenses after an investigation by counterterror detectives.

The Metropolitan Police force said Mostafa Sepahvand, 39, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 44, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 55, were charged with “engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service” between Aug. 14, 2024 and Feb. 16, 2025.

The foreign state to which the charges relate is Iran, police added.

All three men live in London. They have been in custody since their arrests on May 3.

Sepahvand was also charged with engaging in “surveillance, reconnaissance and open-source research,” intending to commit serious violence against a person in the United Kingdom. The others are charged with engaging in surveillance and reconnaissance with the intention serious violence would be committed by others.

Police did not identify the individual allegedly targeted.

Commander Dominic Murphy of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command, called the charges “extremely serious.”

A fourth man arrested in the same investigation was released without charge.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has previously said he was "disturbed" to learn that Iranian citizens had been arrested by British authorities.

The British government has placed Iran on the highest tier of its foreign influence register, requiring Tehran to register everything it does to exert political influence in the UK.

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World

NATO: Ukraine Still Receiving Arms Despite Mideast War

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte via Reuters/File
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte via Reuters/File
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NATO: Ukraine Still Receiving Arms Despite Mideast War

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte via Reuters/File
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte via Reuters/File

Ukraine is still getting essential defense equipment despite the war in the Middle East, which is depleting stockpiles in Europe and the United States, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Thursday.

"The good news is that essential equipment into Ukraine continues to flow," he told reporters. That included American-made Patriot missile interceptors, which Ukraine desperately needs, he added, AFP reported.

The PURL program, launched last year, allows Ukraine to receive US equipment financed by European countries.

Some 75 percent of the missiles used by Patriot batteries in Ukraine have been supplied through the program, and 90 percent of the munitions used by other air-defense systems, Rutte added.

Rutte called on European countries to increase their own production capacity.

"They need to produce more extra production lines, extra shifts, opening new factories. The money is there," he said.

World

Germany FM Says 'Encouraging' if US Speaking Directly to Iran

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. (Reuters: File Photo)
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. (Reuters: File Photo)
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Germany FM Says 'Encouraging' if US Speaking Directly to Iran

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. (Reuters: File Photo)
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. (Reuters: File Photo)

Germany's foreign minister Thursday said it was encouraging if the United States was talking directly to Iran to end the war in the Middle East, but Washington should make its intentions clear.

"I hear that there are signs that the US is speaking directly to Iran. I think that this is encouraging and this is welcome," Johann Wadephul told reporters before heading into the meeting of G7 foreign ministers outside Paris, AFP reported.

With US Secretary of State Marco Rubio set to join the discussions from Friday, he added: "For the German government it is of great importance to know precisely what our American partners are intending."

World

US Envoy Witkoff Says Iran is Seeking an Off-ramp

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
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US Envoy Witkoff Says Iran is Seeking an Off-ramp

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

The United States has sent Iran a "15-point action list" as a basis for negotiations to end the current conflict, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said on Thursday, adding that there are signs that Tehran was interested in making a deal.

 

Witkoff, speaking during a cabinet meeting at the White House, said that the nascent talks could be successful if the Iranians realize there were no good alternatives - a realization Tehran might be coming to, he argued, Reuters reported.

 

"We will see where things lead, and if we can convince Iran that this is the inflection point with no good alternatives for them other than more death and destruction," Witkoff told reporters.

 

"We have strong signs that this is a possibility."

 

Witkoff said Pakistan had been acting as a mediator, confirming statements from Pakistani officials.