A man accused of spying for Iran was due to appear before magistrates in London on Friday after being arrested in the West Midlands by counter-terrorism police. File Photo by Mike Theiler/UPI | License Photo
July 17 (UPI) -- A 39-year-old man was due in court in London on Friday accused of breaching national security law by assisting Iran's intelligence service.
Counter-terrorism police charged Vahid Aberi, of Liverpool, with aiding the intelligence service of another country under the 2023 National Security Act after arresting him in Birmingham on Wednesday following an investigation, the Met said in a news release.
Commander Helen Flanagan, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said that while authorities were seeing "a significant and sustained increase" in cases involving national security, there was no threat to the public in this specific instance.
"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," Flanagan said.
