British-Iranian man offered himself as 'humble servant' to spy for Tehran before being rumbled by police, court told

By RYAN HOOPER, CRIME CORRESPONDENT Published: 15:46, 17 July 2026 | Updated: 15:48, 17 July 2026 A British-Iranian national volunteered to spy for Iran's intelligence services before being rumbled in a sting operation, a court heard. 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. 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. Aberi appeared before Westminster Magistrates' Court today charged with one count of assisting a foreign intelligence service after he was arrested in Birmingham on Wednesday. Wearing a grey T-shirt and trousers, he spoke only to confirm his name and address. The defendant appeared before magistrates this afternoon He was not asked to enter pleas during the seven-minute hearing. He was remanded in custody by chief magistrate Paul Goldspring to appear before the Old Bailey on August 21. 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. Commander Helen Flanagan, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said this morning: '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.' Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.