Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Iran's late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, owns two luxury apartments in west London that overlook the Israeli embassy, according to a year-long investigation by Bloomberg. The properties, located on the sixth and seventh floors of a building on Palace Green in Kensington, are believed to be worth more than £50 million. They sit less than 50 metres from the embassy, one of the most heavily guarded diplomatic areas in the capital.
The investigation also claims that Khamenei, 56, controls a wider portfolio of UK property, including 11 mansions on Hampstead's Bishops Avenue, often referred to as Billionaire's Row. These were purchased through a front man and an Isle of Man shell company. The combined value of the Kensington and Hampstead properties is estimated at around £200 million.
Security experts have raised concerns that the apartments could be used as a surveillance platform. Roger Macmillan, a counter-terrorism specialist and former director of security at Iran International, said: "Iran owns the view into the back of the Israeli Embassy from less than 50 metres away. Two apartments, direct line of sight, held through Mojtaba Khamenei. That's not a property portfolio - it's a permanent surveillance platform." The location could allow observation of staff and visitors, photography of movements, monitoring of conversations in outdoor areas, and even laser-assisted techniques to extract speech from inside buildings.
The revelations come after four Iranian men were arrested in north London on suspicion of spying for Iran's intelligence services. They are accused of carrying out surveillance on Jewish locations and individuals, including synagogues and worshippers. Six further people were arrested in Harrow on suspicion of aiding and abetting an offender, though sources said they were not believed to be connected to any specific plots.
The Kensington flats are formally owned through Ali Ansari, an Iranian oligarch and family friend, who purchased them in 2014 and 2016 for £16.7 million and £19 million respectively. The Hampstead properties were bought through Birch Ventures Limited, registered in the Isle of Man, for around £73 million in 2013. Several of the Hampstead homes are believed to be empty and some have fallen into disrepair.
