The United Kingdom’s Foreign Office on Monday summoned Iran’s ambassador to London, Seyed Ali Mousavi, condemning Tehran’s “reckless and destabilising actions” both within the UK and internationally.
A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said the move followed the recent charging of two individuals, one Iranian citizen and one dual British-Iranian national, under the National Security Act for allegedly aiding a foreign intelligence service.
“This government will take all measures necessary to protect the British people, including exposing Iran’s reckless and destabilising actions at home and abroad,” the spokesperson added.
The two suspects, Nematollah Shahsavani, 40, a dual Iranian-British national, and Alireza Farasati, 22, an Iranian citizen, appeared in a London court last Thursday.
Prosecutors allege the pair conducted surveillance targeting the Jewish community in London on behalf of Iran, including reconnoitering locations such as synagogues.
Prosecutor Louise Attrill told the court that they were “suspected of assisting the Iranian intelligence service by conducting hostile surveillance of locations and individuals linked to the Israeli and Jewish community.”
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British authorities, including MI5, the police, and members of parliament, have repeatedly warned of an increasing threat from Iran, which is currently engaged in a conflict with the United States and Israel.
Shahsavani and Farasati are accused of carrying out these activities between July 9 and August 15 last year.
Separately, police announced that an Iranian man and a 31-year-old Romanian woman had been charged in connection with an attempted entry into Faslane, the Royal Navy base in Scotland that houses the UK’s nuclear submarines.
The Iranian man has been released pending further investigation, while the Romanian woman will face no immediate proceedings, though authorities reserved the right to act if new evidence emerges.
Concerns in Britain have grown over the country potentially becoming a target due to its role in the US-Israeli conflict with Iran.
The UK has allowed US forces to use two British bases for operations against Iran, which the government has described as strictly “defensive.”