Two Iranian nationals have been charged with plotting a terrorist attack against a synagogue in Manchester, northwest England, following a surveillance operation. Salam Ahmadyan, 36, and Rahman Salehi, 34, were taken into custody last month and officially charged on Friday with engaging in conduct in preparation for terrorist acts.
During an appearance at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, prosecutor Mark Luckett alleged that the men conducted "a hostile reconnaissance within Manchester’s Jewish community." The pair reportedly researched potential attacks on the Heaton Park Congregation Synagogue and the Jewish Museum located in nearby Cheetham Hill. According to the prosecution, the suspects were acting under the direction of a third party believed to be based in Iran, who coordinated the plans and provided instructions for the construction of a homemade chlorine bomb.
The Heaton Park synagogue was previously the site of a deadly attack on October 2, 2025, during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. In that incident, 35-year-old Jihad Al-Shamie, who allegedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, drove his car into the synagogue gates and launched a knife attack while wearing a fake suicide belt. That earlier assault resulted in the deaths of congregation members Melvin Cravitz, 66, and Adrian Daulby, 53, while three other individuals were seriously wounded before police killed the attacker.
The court heard that both Ahmadyan and Salehi entered the U.K. without authorization within the last six years after crossing the English Channel by boat. Records indicate that Salehi has been granted asylum, while Ahmadyan currently has a pending asylum claim. Neither defendant entered a plea during their court appearance, and Judge Nina Tempia ordered them to remain in custody until their next hearing, scheduled for October 23 at the Central Criminal Court in London.
Vicki Evans, senior national coordinator of counterterror policing, stated that the plot is considered an isolated incident and there is no ongoing public threat. She further clarified that this investigation is not connected to a separate suspected terror plot at the U.S.-run RAF Fairford air base, which some officials have previously linked to Tehran.
