Three Iranians appeared before the British judiciary, today (Tuesday), on charges of spying for Iran, and they are suspected of paving the way for an attack targeting at least one journalist working for an anti-Iranian regime channel residing in London.
According to Agence France-Presse, the three had visited addresses linked to a number of people, including two journalists working for the Persian-language channel Iran International, which Tehran describes as a “terrorist organization.” The three defendants, Mustafa Sabhund (41 years old), Farhad Manesh (46 years old), and Shapur Nouri (57 years old), appeared before the Woolwich Criminal Court in London. They all pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.
Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones told the jury that the three men were accused of carrying out actions likely to assist a foreign intelligence service - "in other words... they were spying on people of interest to the Iranian regime."
He added that they carried out surveillance and reconnaissance operations between August 2024 and February 2025. The Public Prosecution stated that Sabhound was supposed to carry out any possible attack, noting that the trial will focus on the steps taken “on behalf of the Iranian regime to target journalists and others seen as hostile to it or even just critics.”
The three defendants did not deny that they visited those addresses and took photos and videos, but Sabhund said that he acted under duress and out of fear. As for Menesh and Nouri, they told the court that they were not aware that what they were doing was aimed at helping Iranian intelligence.
The prosecutor said that the goal of the three was “to locate and target at least two journalists associated with Iran International and others... in retaliation for their criticism of the Iranian regime and an attempt to silence them and deter others who might dare to express their criticism.”
The defendants, who reside in London, face charges under the British National Security Act.
Sabhound faces an additional charge of carrying out surveillance, reconnaissance, and collecting information from open sources with the intention of committing serious acts of violence. Menish and Nouri also face charges of conducting surveillance and reconnaissance activities with the knowledge or intent that they would be used to commit serious acts of violence by others.
The trial is expected to last up to 6 weeks.
On Tuesday morning, French President Emmanuel Macron supervised the experimental “first launch” of an intercontinental missile from a submarine off the coast of the west of the country, according to what the Elysee Palace and the Ministry of the Armed Forces announced.
The presidency told Agence France-Presse that Macron followed the launch from aboard a frigate belonging to the National Navy.
The Ministry of the Armed Forces explained in a statement that the missile, which is the third version of the M51 sea-to-surface strategic ballistic missile, was “devoid of its nuclear charge” and fell “in the North Atlantic Ocean, hundreds of kilometers from any coast.”
The Elysee did not announce in advance this presidential activity, which took place without the presence of the media, while the military test was announced.
The test comes in light of increasing tension in Europe, as Emmanuel Macron warned of a change in the nature of “Russian aggression and threats” directed against European countries, following a series of “multi-media” attacks attributed to Moscow. He pledged in mid-September that these attacks “will not go unanswered.”
This year, the French President also proposed to the Europeans to join the “advanced” nuclear deterrence system stemming from his new doctrine that he revealed in the spring, which leaves the decision to use nuclear weapons limited to him alone.
France introduced into service a year ago this new version of the intercontinental missiles that are deployed aboard submarines responsible for nuclear deterrence. The move was described at the time as “a major stage in the modernization of the maritime component of the French nuclear deterrent.”
The Ministry of the Armed Forces explained that the missile was launched on Tuesday from the missile-launching nuclear submarine “Le Vigilane” within the framework of “Operation Smertrius,” with the aim of verifying the submarine’s ability to use the “M51” missile after its periodic stoppage for maintenance and repair.
She added that “the missile was monitored throughout its flight,” in “full compliance with France’s international obligations.”
The award-giving body announced today (Tuesday) that scientist Francis Halzen has won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics, in recognition of “his decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astronomical origin.”
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences noted that Halzen's "vision and scientific leadership" were a fundamental pillar of the observatory, which it described as "a cubic kilometer-sized cube of ice equipped with light sensors," according to Agence France-Presse.
Using this observatory, researchers can detect neutrinos, which are rare subatomic particles, “resulting from enormous energy processes in the distant universe.”
Professor Eva Olsson, a member of the Nobel Committee for Physics, told reporters at the academy’s headquarters in Stockholm, “This Nobel Prize relates to a giant ice cube located at the south pole of our planet, as this ice cube allows for the detection of neutrinos.”
Halzen (82 years old) was born in Tennen, Belgium, and is a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the United States.
“It was a big surprise, and I obviously wasn’t expecting it,” Halzen said in a telephone press conference shortly after the award was announced.
He added, "But I was thrilled to hear the news of winning this award."
This is the second Nobel Prize announced this season, after the Medicine Prize was awarded on Monday to the American psychiatrist and neuroscientist Karl Deisseroth, and the German scientists Peter Hegemann and Jorg Nagel.
These researchers were rewarded in recognition of their pioneering work in the field of optogenetics, which relies on controlling neural signals using light.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences selects the winners of the Nobel Prize in Physics, who receive a financial prize worth a total of 12 million Swedish krona ($1.2 million), and this value is divided among them in the event of multiple winners.
