March 24 (UPI) — Britain’s foreign ministry said it has summoned Iran’s ambassador to London after two Iranian men were charged with spying on members of its Jewish community for Iran’s intelligence agency.
The ambassador, Seyed Ali Mousavi, was summoned to Britain’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on Monday.
“National security remains our top priority, and we take threats posed by Iran and those who do its bidding extremely seriously,” the ministry spokesperson said in a statement.
“This government will take all measures necessary to protect the British people, including exposing Iran’s reckless and destabilizing actions at home and abroad.”
The two men — Nematollah Shahsavani, a 40-year-old dual Iranian-British national; and 22-year-old Iranian Alireza Farasati — were charged Wednesday after being arrested March 6 on allegations of surveilling locations and individuals linked to London’s Jewish community.
Both men were charged under the National Security Act with engaging in conduct believed to be assisting Iran’s foreign intelligence service between July 9 and Aug. 15 of 2025.
The men made their initial court appearance on Thursday. Prosecutors told the court that authorities had seized devices from the suspects containing a list of targets, including the Israeli embassy, the local Israel consulate a London synagogue and others, The Times of Israel reported.
Metropolitan Police had said two other British-Iranian men in their 50s had also been arrested March 6 as part of the investigation, but were later released without charges.
“We fully recognize 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, and will be relentless in our pursuit of those who may be responsible,” Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans of the Metropolitan Police’s counter terrorism unit said in a statement after the pair were charged last week.
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