UK, Netherlands probe Iran links to plots targeting Jewish sites: What to know
British authorities said two men had spied on the Jewish community in London for Iran, and synagogues were recently targeted in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Two men accused of spying on Jewish sites in the United Kingdom for Iran appeared in a British court Thursday. The case comes amid a wave of attacks on Jewish institutions across Europe that are now under investigation for possible links to Tehran.
What happened: London’s Metropolitan Police said Wednesday that Nematollah Shahsavani, a British-Iranian citizen, and Alireza Farasati, an Iranian national, were charged with “engaging in conduct that is likely to assist a foreign intelligence service” between July and August last year. The police identified the service as Iran's and said the two were arrested March 6.
They appeared in court Thursday, where prosecutors accused them of engaging in “hostile surveillance” of locations linked to the Jewish and Israeli community in the UK. The men were not immediately asked to enter a plea, and a lawyer for Farasati said he intends to fight the charge, The Associated Press reported.
Why it matters: There have been a number of attacks on Jewish institutions in Europe this month amid the Israeli-US-Iran war.
