Two men have been charged with spying for Iran after allegedly conducting what prosecutors describe as “hostile surveillance” against London’s Jewish community, targeting some of its most historic and prominent institutions.
The alleged activities, which the court heard were focused on identifying and monitoring sites linked to Israel and British Jews, are said to have included Britain’s oldest synagogue, a major Jewish college, and the charity dedicated to protecting the community from attack.
Targets at the heart of the community
Prosecutor Louise Attrill told Westminster Magistrates’ Court that the defendants are suspected of assisting Iranian intelligence by watching “locations and individuals linked to the Israeli and Jewish community.”
The list of alleged targets is extensive. It includes the Israeli embassy and its consulate in Kensington, the JW3 Jewish community centre on Finchley Road, and the Community Security Trust (CST) – a charity that provides security advice and training to Jewish schools, synagogues, and organisations. A private home in Colchester, several schools, and a museum in Finchley were also cited.
Particular focus was placed on two significant centres of Jewish life and learning. One is the Sternberg Centre for Judaism in Finchley, which houses the Leo Baeck College, a rabbinical seminary and teacher training centre sponsored by major reform Jewish movements. The other is the Bevis Marks Synagogue in Aldgate. Founded in 1698 and completed in 1701, it is the oldest synagogue in Britain and the oldest continuously used synagogue in Europe, serving London’s historic Spanish and Portuguese Jewish community.
The court also heard that a woman living in the UK, who has been accused of being an agent for Mossad – the Israeli intelligence service – was allegedly targeted. There is a precedent for tensions over such activities; in 2010, Britain expelled a senior Mossad official after accusing Israel of forging British passports used in an assassination in Dubai.
The accused and the alleged operation
The two men charged are Nematollah Shahsavani, 40, and Alireza Farasati, 22. They face a single charge under the National Security Act 2023 of “engaging in conduct that is likely to assist a foreign intelligence service” between July 9 and August 15 last year.
Prosecutors allege Shahsavani, a dual Iranian and British national and delivery driver who has lived in the UK since 2009, identified the targets and “tasked” his younger co-accused to carry out the surveillance. Farasati, an Iranian national and trained barber who moved to Britain in 2021, is alleged to have conducted the reconnaissance. The prosecution states both men were “gathering information and undertaking reconnaissance of targets, and knew or ought to have known their conduct was likely to materially assist a foreign intelligence service.”
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which authorised the charges, alleges the foreign intelligence service in question is that of Iran.
A new legal front in counter-espionage
The case is being pursued under the new National Security Act 2023, which received Royal Assent in July 2023. This legislation was designed to modernise the UK’s response to state threats, repealing the old Official Secrets Acts and creating new offences such as “assisting a foreign intelligence service.” It grants police increased powers, including arrest without warrant for offences connected to foreign power threats.
The charges follow an investigation by the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command. Four men were initially arrested on March 6 this year; Shahsavani and Farasati were subsequently charged, while two other British-Iranian nationals were released without charge.
A pattern of hostile state activity
The allegations emerge against a backdrop of heightened concern within British security services about Iranian operations on UK soil. In October 2025, the head of MI5, Ken McCallum, stated that more than 20 “potentially lethal Iran-backed plots” had been disrupted in the preceding 12 months. Security assessments often attribute such activities to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), citing efforts to undermine political cohesion, promote state narratives, and target dissidents and journalists.
The CST has thanked police and prosecutors for bringing the charges, underscoring the seriousness with which the Jewish community views the threat. The alleged five-week surveillance period last summer also predates the recent US-Israeli military campaign against Iran that began in February 2026, placing it within a longer-standing pattern of tension.
Concerns about Iranian operatives targeting Jewish communities are not confined to the UK; similar incidents have been reported in other European nations, including the Netherlands and Norway.
Court proceedings begin
At Thursday’s hearing, Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring remanded both defendants into custody. Neither entered a plea, though Alphege Bell, representing Farasati, indicated his client intends to contest the charge. Their case has been sent to the Old Bailey for a hearing on April 17.
As he was led from the dock, Shahsavani, wearing a blue puffa jacket, was seen blowing a kiss towards the public gallery. Both men have been in custody since their arrests earlier this month.
