A Greek man was charged on Friday with spying on a Persian-language journalist based in London for a foreign intelligence service, believed to be Iran, in the latest such case in Britain.
Ioannis Aidinidis, 46, who lives in Munich in Germany, appeared in a London court after being charged under the UK’s National Security Act following an investigation by the Counter Terrorism Police (CTP) in London.
Prosecutors said he was paid to travel to the UK twice in April and May 2026 to spy on journalists at Iran International, a Persian-language media outlet that has been the target of a series of recent attacks allegedly sponsored by Iran.
Aidinidis had been in custody since he was arrested in West Sussex, southwest London, on May 16, London’s Metropolitan Police force said on Friday.
“The country to which the allegations relate is believed to be Iran and the allegations relate to the targeting of a UK-based journalist working for Iran International,” the Met added.
Prosecutor Lee Ingham told the court that Aidinidis allegedly photographed and filmed addresses and registration plates of cars linked to the journalist.
During his second visit, he allegedly “installed a hidden camera hidden in a sock” which was “capable of sending data to unknown persons abroad”.
The court was told that Iran International journalists have been “openly targeted” by the Iranian government.
Aidinidis was remanded in custody and will appear at the Old Bailey central criminal court on June 19.
Iran International last month said it was facing an “ongoing effort to intimidate” it and “silence independent Persian-language journalism beyond Iran’s borders.”
In April, two young men and a teenage boy appeared in a London court charged with an attempted arson attack at its offices.
The private broadcaster, based in a secured building in west London, was labeled a “terrorist” organization by Tehran in 2022 along with the BBC’s Persian-language channel.
In 2023, on the advice of British counter-terrorism police, it was forced to shut down and temporarily broadcast from Washington for seven months.
A year later, one of the channel’s reporters was stabbed near his home in London, prompting an investigation by Scotland Yard.
After Aidinidis was charged, Helen Flanagan, head of CTP London, admitted it “may cause concern for many people here in the UK, and particularly those who work in Persian-language media”.
Police said there is not believed to be any wider threat to the public.
