British counter-terrorism police have charged a 39-year-old man, Vahid Aberi, with assisting a foreign intelligence service, specifically naming Iran as the state involved. Aberi was arrested on Wednesday in Birmingham and later charged under section 3 of the National Security Act 2023. He was remanded in custody and is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday. Police said searches were conducted at addresses in Birmingham and Liverpool, and that no direct threat to any community or individual had been identified in connection with the investigation.

According to London’s counter-terrorism command, the case reflects a sustained increase in national security investigations. Commander Helen Flanagan stated that in recent years the police have seen a significant and continuous rise in workload related to foreign intelligence services. The UK government has said that MI5, the domestic security service, has identified at least 20 potentially lethal Iran-backed plots targeting individuals in Britain over the past year. British officials maintain that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has used proxy operatives and criminal networks to target opponents of the Iranian government and members of the Jewish community abroad.

The charge against Aberi was brought under existing national security legislation, but the case coincides with the final stages of a new legal framework designed specifically to counter state-sponsored threats. The National Security (State Threats) Act 2026, which received royal assent on 8 July, amends the 2023 act and empowers the home secretary to formally designate entities involved in threatening activities linked to foreign states. The government introduced draft regulations on 13 July to designate the IRGC, along with the Iran-linked Ashab al-Haq Islamic Movement and Russia’s GRU volunteer corps. The House of Commons approved the regulations on Wednesday; the House of Lords is expected to consider them on Thursday. Jonathan Hall, the government’s senior legal adviser, explained that the existing Terrorism Act 2000 was never designed to apply to military or intelligence organs of a foreign state, and that the new regime aims to deter individuals in Britain who might accept payment to conduct surveillance, violence, or other acts on behalf of the IRGC. Under the new law, supporting a designated entity can carry a sentence of up to 14 years in prison.

The arrest follows a series of incidents that British authorities attribute to Iranian state actors. Earlier this month, two Romanian nationals were sentenced to a total of 20 years for the knife attack on Iran International journalist Pouria Zeraati outside his home in Wimbledon in 2024; the prosecution argued the attack was carried out on behalf of the Iranian government. Last week, the UK summoned Iran’s most senior diplomat in London over the attack. Iran’s embassy in London has previously rejected what it calls “baseless, politically motivated and hostile” allegations, and Tehran has denied involvement in plots on British soil. The Aberi case now moves to the courts, while the parliamentary process to designate the IRGC under the new state threats regime is expected to conclude in the coming days.