2 men in UK court accused of spying on Israeli embassy, London’s Bevis Marks Synagogue for Iran

Two men appear in a London court 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.

Prosecutor Louise Attrill tells 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 group that provides security advice for the country’s Jews.

Attrill says 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.