Two Iranian nationals charged in Manchester over alleged Yom Kippur terror plot
London police have charged two Iranian men with preparing terrorist attacks targeting Manchester's Jewish community on the eve of Yom Kippur, saying the plot was disrupted and no ongoing public threat remains.
London's Metropolitan Police said two Iranian men, 36-year-old Salam Ahmadyan of Liverpool and 34-year-old Rahman Salehi of Salford, were charged on Friday with preparing terrorist acts aimed at Manchester's Jewish community. The arrests, made on September 20, followed a joint Counter Terror Policing (CTP) investigation that also identified a possible third conspirator located in Iran.
"These are extremely serious charges and allegations and have come about from a joint CTP investigation, working closely with our partners in the security services," Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans, senior national coordinator for CTP, said.
Evans added that the investigation disrupted the alleged plot and that authorities do not believe there is an ongoing threat to the public. The charges arrive a year after a deadly car-ramming and stabbing attack outside a Manchester synagogue killed two people, and a day after a separate Iranian-British dual national was arrested on suspicion of plotting against a U.S.-used RAF base in Fairford.
"While this incident and the investigation into the RAF Fairford incident are not connected in any way, I want to reassure the public that CTP, working with our national security partners, are using the full range of our capabilities to protect the UK from any hostile acts," Evans said.
Greater Manchester Police Deputy Chief Constable Terry Woods said the timing of the alleged plot, coinciding with the Jewish High Holy Days and the anniversary of last year's synagogue attack, is especially concerning for the community. He affirmed that heightened policing measures around Jewish sites will remain in place as authorities continue to cooperate with community leaders.