Alleged Iranian spies face trial accused of targeting British Jewish community
Nematollah Shahsavani, 41, and Alireza Farasati, 22, are charged with engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service
A car salesman and barber are facing trial next year for allegedly spying on members of the Israeli and Jewish communities on behalf of Iran.
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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 at the Old Bailey and spoke only to confirm their identities in the dock.
Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb set a plea hearing on October 9 and a three-week trial at the Old Bailey from April 26 2027.
Prosecutor Lynden Harris told the court how Farasati had his electronic devices seized during a police stop on August 14 last year.
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He said: “It is believed Mr Farasati was tasked by Nematollah Shahsavani to conduct surveillance against Israeli and Jewish sites in this country.
“Both were arrested in March 2026 and remanded into custody.”
It is alleged that car salesman and delivery driver Shahsavani was being instructed by the Iranian intelligence service.
Both defendants allegedly identified targets with surveillance conducted at the Israeli embassy and consulate and on a woman said to be of interest to Iran, the court was told.
Other alleged targets are said to include a college and Britain’s oldest synagogue.
The alleged offending took place between July 9 2025 and August 15 2025.
Shahsavani, a father-of-two of Sandringham Gardens in North Finchley, north London, is a dual Iranian and British national and has lived in the UK since 2009.
Farasati, of Sanday Drive in Colindale, north-west London, is a trained barber and an Iranian national who moved to the UK as a 17-year-old in 2021.
The defendants were remanded into custody.