London apartments believed owned by Mojtaba Khamenei put up for sale

Two luxury apartments in Kensington, London, believed to be linked to Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and located just meters from the ‘Israeli’ embassy, have been put up for sale, according to a report by The Sunday Times.

The properties, on the sixth and seventh floors of a modern block at 3a Palace Green, sit on the same exclusive street as the ‘Israeli’ embassy and overlook its rear, less than 50 yards (about 45 meters) away.

They are also close to Kensington Palace, the official London residence of the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Each apartment includes separate staff quarters and a private roof terrace.

The flats were acquired in 2014 and 2016 for £16.75 million and £19 million respectively (a combined roughly £35.75 million) through Iranian businessman and banker Ali Ansari, long described by investigators as a key intermediary and family associate of the Khamenei network.

Western intelligence assessments and reporting by outlets including Bloomberg and British newspapers have tied the properties—and a wider London portfolio estimated at around £200 million, including mansions on “Billionaires’ Row” in Hampstead—to Mojtaba Khamenei.

Ansari has denied the links through his lawyer.

The decision to sell follows UK sanctions imposed on Ansari in late 2025 for allegedly financing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and supporting hostile Iranian government activities.

His assets were frozen and he was banned from the UK.

More recently, the US Treasury also sanctioned him as a “key financier” for Mojtaba Khamenei, stating that many holdings in his name ultimately benefited the Iranian leader, his family, regime elites, and the IRGC.

After Ansari reportedly defaulted on mortgage payments, British authorities moved to place the properties on the market.

One of the apartments, bought for £19 million in 2016, is now being offered for £12 million.

The second, purchased for £16.75 million in 2014, has no public asking price listed.

Earlier valuations had placed the pair closer to £50 million.

The proximity of the apartments to the heavily protected ‘Israeli’ embassy previously sparked security concerns.

Counter-terrorism specialist Roger Macmillan, a former security director at the Iranian opposition channel 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.

“This is a serious security breach.”

Britain’s intelligence services have long been aware of the properties.

The sales form part of the ongoing fallout from investigations into the Khamenei family’s alleged overseas real-estate holdings, much of it acquired through shell companies and intermediaries and funded in part by oil revenues that bypassed sanctions.

Many of the linked London properties have stood empty or fallen into disrepair under asset freezes.