See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy RYAN HOOPER, CRIME CORRESPONDENT Published: 12:20 BST, 28 August 2026 | Updated: 12:20 BST, 28 August 2026
A British-Iranian national who allegedly volunteered to spy for Iran's intelligence services before being rumbled in a sting operation is to face trial.Vahid Aberi, from Liverpool, allegedly offered himself as a 'humble servant' asking if he could be 'of any help and cooperation' with his 'dear compatriots' in Islamic Iran, a court heard.Aberi, 39, is then alleged to have exchanged a series of messages in Farsi with someone he believed to be a legitimate Iranian operative based in the UK.This was part of an apparent attempt to find a contact from the Quds Force – the overseas operations wing of the extremist Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).He allegedly offered to travel to London to scope out storage locations, collect a burner phone, and take receipt bags from his contact.But Aberi was unaware he was allegedly chatting with an undercover officer working for UK Counter Terror Policing, a court heard.He appeared at the Old Bailey today by video-link from Wormwood Scrubs for a preliminary hearing before Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb.He is charged with one count of engaging in conduct intended to assist a foreign intelligence service between December 17 2025 and July 16 2026. Vahid Aberi appeared at the Old Bailey via videolink todaySetting out the allegation in court, prosecutor Joe Allman said the defendant had engaged in conduct to 'materially assist' Iranian intelligence services in the UK, contrary to the National Security Act.He was engaged with an 'undercover roleplayer' after being subjected to a port stop at Stansted airport, he said.Mr Allman said: 'As a further consequence, an arrangement was made whereby this defendant would carry out a number of activities which included setting up a new email address, purchasing a new phone, filling in a questionnaire and travelling to London from his home to pick up a burner phone.'The defendant is then alleged to have travelled to London and picked up a 'burgundy container' purportedly containing a drone.On July 15, he was arrested and a burgundy bag was recovered from the boot of his car, the subject of roleplayer activities, Mr Allman saidMrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said the case would be heard by a High Court judge at Preston Crown Court.The court heard he is to deny the allegation.A provisional trial was set for February 15 next year with a plea hearing at the Old Bailey on December 4.Aberi, of Ampulla Road, Liverpool, spoke to confirm his identity and was remanded into custody during the 30-minute hearing.The IRGC is a violent, Islamist-extremist organisation that was founded by acolytes of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini to defend the Islamic Republic of Iran's core values.
