Two Iranian nationals charged with plotting attack on Manchester Jewish community
British police have charged two Iranian men with planning a terrorist attack on Manchester's Jewish community, saying they were in contact with an overseas source that provided bomb instructions.
British police charged two Iranian men with plotting a terrorist attack on Manchester's Jewish community. The suspects, 36-year-old Salam Ahmadyan of Liverpool and 34-year-old Rahman Salehi of Salford, appeared in Westminster Magistrates' Court on Saturday and were remanded until a hearing at the Central Criminal Court on Oct. 23. The Metropolitan Police said the men were arrested in Manchester on Sept. 20 and are alleged to have communicated with an overseas third party, possibly in Iran, that supplied instructions for constructing a homemade chlorine bomb.
"We do not believe there to be any ongoing threat to the public in relation to this matter," Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans said. "This news will be deeply distressing for our Jewish communities, coming so soon after Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur," Home Minister Shabana Mahmood said, adding that the case comes a year after the Oct. 2, 2025, knife and gun attack on the Heaton Park synagogue that killed two people. The minister also noted that both suspects arrived in the UK by small boat several years ago, linking the case to broader concerns about illegal migration. Salehi was granted asylum and Ahmadyan has a pending asylum claim. The arrests follow a series of recent incidents targeting Jewish or Israel-linked sites in the UK and a separate investigation into a suspected plot against RAF Fairford air base.