Man appears in court on spying charges allegedly linked to Iran

A man has appeared in court accused of offering his skills to a contact he believed to represent the Iranian authorities.

Vahid Aberi, 39, from Liverpool, has been charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service relating to Iran after an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing.

Aberi, who has been charged with the National Security Act offence, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court earlier and spoke only to confirm his identity.

The dual British/Iranian national has been accused of engaging in conduct between 17 December 2025 and 16 July 2026, intending that conduct to materially assist a foreign intelligence service in carrying out UK-related activities.

The alleged conduct includes offering his skills to a contact he believed to represent the Iranian authorities, picking up a phone in London and identifying possible storage locations for his contact.

He is also alleged to have travelled to London to secure a bag of material from his contact, picked up a bag from a luggage storage point in Marble Arch, agreed to store a bag on behalf of his contact and allegedly provided a contingency plan to his contact to allow for the retrieval of the bag.

Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring remanded Aberi in custody and said he would next appear at the Old Bailey on 21 August.

Aberi was arrested in Birmingham on Wednesday following an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing.

He taken to a police station in West Midlands with detectives later carrying out searches at properties in Birmingham and Liverpool as part of their investigation.

Commander Helen Flanagan, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said: "We have seen a significant and sustained increase in the tempo of our work in national security investigations in recent years.

"This case is yet another example of where we've intervened to disrupt suspected activity linked to foreign intelligence services.

"While we can't comment in detail around the allegations now that a man has been charged, I do want to reassure the public that we have not identified any direct threat to them nor any threat towards a community or individual in connection with this investigation."

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