Two Iranians are to go on trial in London accused of spying on the Israeli embassy and Jewish targets under the orders of Iran's intelligence services.
Nematollah Shahsavani, 41, and Alireza Farasati, 22, are charged with engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service under the National Security Act 2023. On Friday, the pair appeared in the dock at the Old Bailey and spoke only to confirm their identities.
The pair were arrested in March. Two other men detained at the same time as part of the investigation were released without charge. Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb set a plea hearing on October 9 and a three-week trial at the Old Bailey from April 26, 2027.
It is alleged that Mr Shahsavan, a car salesman and delivery driver, was being instructed by the Iranian intelligence service. Prosecutor Lynden Harris told the court that Mr Farasati, a barber, had his electronic devices seized during a police stop on August 14 last year.
“It is believed Mr Farasati was tasked by Nematollah Shahsavani to conduct surveillance against Israeli and Jewish sites in this country.”
Both defendants allegedly identified targets, with surveillance of the Israeli embassy and consulate, as well as of a woman said to be of interest to Iran, in July and August last year, the court was told. Other alleged targets are said to have included a college and Britain’s oldest synagogue.
Mr Shahsavani, a father of two from north London, is a dual Iranian and British national and has lived in the UK since 2009. His co-accused is an Iranian national from north-west London, who moved to the UK as a 17 year old in 2021. Both defendants were remanded into custody.
The area where Mr Shahsavani lives had a 42 per cent increase in residents born in Iran over the 10 years to 2021, data from the UK's census shows.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Friday that the government will bring legislation before Parliament to proscribe Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation.
It comes as three men and a youth also appeared at the Old Bailey accused of destroying four Jewish community ambulances in an arson attack.
Responsibility for the attack was once again claimed by Harakat Ashab Al Yamin Al Islamia, or Ashab Al Yamin, which translates to the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right Hand. It is suspected to be a front for the IRGC.
Hamza Iqbal, 20, Rehan Khan, 19, Judex Atshatshi, 18, and a 17-year-old boy of dual British-Pakistani nationality, were charged with criminal damage. They are alleged to have set fire to the ambulances, which belong to Hatzola, a volunteer-led ambulance service operating in the Golders Green area of north London.
Three people allegedly set fire to the fully stocked vehicles in north London, while a fourth waited in a blue Toyota Avensis. The resulting blaze caused gas canisters inside the ambulances to explode, resulting in around £1 million of damage.
Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb set a plea hearing for August 28 and a provisional four-week trial at the Old Bailey from January 27 next year.
