Two men deny spying on UK Jewish community for Iran

A car salesman and barber accused of spying on members of the Israeli and Jewish communities in the UK on behalf of Iran have pleaded not guilty.

Nematollah Shahsavani, 41, and Alireza Farasati, 23, are charged with engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service under the National Security Act 2023.

The conduct between 9 July and 15 August 2025 is alleged to have involved gathering information and carrying out reconnaissance in the UK on behalf of Iranian intelligence services.

On Friday, Shahsavani appeared in Court One of the Old Bailey by videolink from Pentonville jail and Farasati in the dock.

The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charge against them and face a trial at the Old Bailey from 26 April 2027.

During the hearing, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb set a further pre-trial hearing for 12 February.

Previously, the court has heard how Farasati had his electronic devices seized during a police stop on 14 August last year.

It is alleged Farasati was tasked by Shahsavani to conduct surveillance and gather information on the Israeli and Jewish communities.

It is alleged car salesman and delivery driver Shahsavani was being instructed by the Iranian intelligence service.

Targets allegedly included the Israeli embassy and consulate, a woman said to be of interest to Iran, a college and Britain’s oldest synagogue.

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.

Both defendants, who were arrested in March 2026, were remanded into custody.