LONDON, March 19: UK police have charged two men in relation to spying for Iran on individuals and places linked to the Jewish community.
UK police, the domestic intelligence service MI5 and members of parliament have long warned about a growing threat from Iran, which is currently locked in a war with the United States and Israel.
"The charge relates to carrying out activities in the UK such as gathering information and undertaking reconnaissance of targets," said Frank Ferguson, head of the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) special crime and counter-terrorism division.
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"We fully recognise that the public - and in particular the Jewish community - will be concerned but I hope this investigation reassures them that we will not hesitate to take action if we identify there may be a threat to their safety," added Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans.
Nematollah Shahsavani, 40, a dual Iranian and British national, and Alireza Farasati, 22, an Iranian national, were late Wednesday charged with engaging in contact likely to assist a foreign intelligence service between July 9 and August 15 last year.
The CPS said Iran was the country the charges related to.
Both men are due to appear before a court in London later Thursday.
In October 2025, MI5 chief Ken McCallum said that British security agencies had tracked "more than 20 potentially lethal Iran-backed plots" in the previous year.
