Iran’s ambassador to the UK has been summoned by the Foreign Office over his country’s "reckless and destabilising actions" in Britain and overseas. Seyed Ali Mousavi was called into the Foreign Office after an Iranian and a British-Iranian dual national were accused of carrying out hostile surveillance on London's Jewish community.
The Foreign Office said the UK takes the threat posed by Iran and its proxies "extremely seriously". The diplomat was summoned on the instruction of Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and was met by Middle East minister Hamish Falconer. A Foreign Office spokesman said: "The summons follows the recent charging of two individuals, one Iranian national and one British-Iranian dual national, under the National Security Act, on suspicion of providing assistance to a foreign intelligence service.
"National security remains our top priority, and we take threats posed by Iran and those who do its bidding extremely seriously.
"This government will take all measures necessary to protect the British people, including exposing Iran's reckless and destabilising actions at home and abroad."
Nematollah Shahsavani, 40, and Alireza Farasati, 22, are accused of engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service between July 9 and August 15 last year.
The prosecution alleged the men carried out reconnaissance of targets including Britain's oldest synagogue, a Jewish community centre, a campus with a school, an organisation giving security advice to the Jewish community, and the Israeli embassy and consulate.
They are also accused of trying to carry out reconnaissance on a woman who was living in Colchester at the time.
The two men appeared together in the dock at Westminster Magistrates’ Court last Thursday, sitting side by side.
Speaking only through an interpreter to confirm their names and dates of birth, they were told by Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring that they would remain in custody until their next hearing at the Old Bailey on April 17.
Shahsavani, who arrived in the UK in 2009 and now holds both British and Iranian citizenship, lives with his wife and two school‑aged children.
Farasati, who came to the UK in 2021 on a family reunion visa at age 17 to join his mother, holds only Iranian nationality.
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