Two men deny Iran-backed surveillance of Jewish and Israeli sites in London
Targets allegedly included the Israeli embassy and consulate, a woman said to be of interest to Iran, a college, and Britain's oldest synagogue.
Two men have denied carrying out surveillance on Jewish and Israeli sites across London on behalf of Iran’s intelligence service.
Prosecutors say Nematollah Shahsavani, 41, and Alireza Farasati, 22, engaged in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service under the National Security Act 2023.
It is alleged the pair carried out hostile reconnaissance at a number of locations between 9 July and 15 August last year. The sites reportedly targeted included the Israeli embassy and consulate, a woman said to be of interest to Iran, a college, and Britain’s oldest synagogue.
Both defendants entered not guilty pleas during a hearing at the Old Bailey on Friday. Farasati appeared in the dock in person, while Shahsavani joined by video link from HMP Pentonville.
The court had previously heard that police seized electronic devices from Farasati, who works as a barber, when he was stopped on 14 August last year.
Prosecutors allege Shahsavani instructed Farasati to monitor and gather intelligence on London’s Jewish and Israeli communities. Shahsavani, who works as a car salesman and delivery driver, is said to have been acting on instructions from Iranian intelligence.
Shahsavani, a dual British-Iranian national and father of two from North Finchley, north London, has lived in the UK since 2009.
Farasati, an Iranian national living in Colindale, north-west London, came to Britain as a 17-year-old in 2021.
Mrs Judge Cheema-Grubb set a further pre-trial hearing for 12 February, with a full trial due to start at the Old Bailey on 26 April next year.
Both men, who were arrested in March, remain in custody.