Two Men Appear in UK Court Accused of Spying on Israeli Embassy, Jewish Targets for Iran

Two men appeared in a London court on Thursday accused of being tasked by Iran to carry out hostile surveillance on the Israeli Embassy, Britain’s oldest synagogue, and other Jewish targets.

Nematollah Shahsavani, 40, a dual Iranian-British national, and Alireza Farasati, an Iranian national, 22, are accused of being involved in gathering information and undertaking reconnaissance of targets given to them by Iranian spy services over five weeks last summer.

As such, the alleged activities pre-dated the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran which began on Feb. 28.

Prosecutor Louise Attrill told London’s Westminster Magistrates Court that devices seized from the two men had contained a list of targets.

These included the Israeli Embassy, the Israeli Consulate, London’s Bevis Marks Synagogue, a Jewish community center, and the Community Security Trust, a charity which provides security advice for the country’s Jews.

Attrill said the evidence suggested Shahsavani, who had traveled to Iran last April and was stopped under counter-terrorism powers when he returned to Britain in August, had been given instructions by Iranian intelligence services, and he had tasked Farasati to carry out the surveillance.

The men did not enter a plea and were remanded in custody until their next hearing at London’s Old Bailey Court on April 17. Farasati’s lawyer Alphege Bell said his client was “no religious fanatic.”

British lawmakers and the domestic spy agency MI5 have long warned of threats posed by Iran, with accusations that Tehran was behind more than 20 suspected kidnap and assassination plots.

Iran has repeatedly denied such accusations, saying they are part of a campaign against it by hostile Western powers.

Vicki Evans, the senior national coordinator of Britain’s counter-terrorism police, said she hoped the investigation would reassure Jewish communities that police would act on any threats to their safety.