Two Iranian men charged over bomb plot targeting Manchester Jewish sites

Two Iranian men have appeared in court accused of planning a homemade bomb attack on Manchester's Jewish community, including a synagogue previously hit by a fatal terrorist attack.

Manchester bomb plot suspects scouted synagogue hit in last year's fatal attack

Two Iranian men charged with planning a homemade explosive attack on Manchester's Jewish community had identified a synagogue already targeted in a fatal terrorist attack last year, a court has heard, according to rte.ie.

Salam Ahmadyan, 36, of Liverpool, and Rahman Salehi, 34, of Salford, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday, each assisted by an interpreter — Kurdish for Salehi, Farsi for Ahmadyan — to confirm their names, dates of birth and addresses.

Prosecutors allege the pair conducted "hostile reconnaissance" at Heaton Park Synagogue in north Manchester and the Jewish Museum in Cheetham Hill. Heaton Park Hebrew Synagogue was the scene of a deadly attack on 2 October last year, when Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, drove into its gates and attacked with a knife while wearing a fake suicide belt, killing Melvin Cravitz, 66, and Adrian Daulby, 53.

Both men were arrested in Manchester on 20 September and charged with engaging in conduct in preparation for terrorist acts, Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) said. They were detained ahead of the festival of Yom Kippur, widely regarded as the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

Prosecutor Mark Luckett told the court: "Both defendants are accused of preparing acts of terrorism targeting the Jewish community in Manchester through the use of a homemade explosive device. The defendants were observed carrying out, what the prosecution say, is a hostile reconnaissance within Manchester's Jewish community, identifying attempted targets such as the Jewish Museum and Heaton Park Synagogue."

The men are also alleged to have been in contact with an Iranian national who "directed and coordinated the planned attack" and provided instructions on how to assemble a homemade explosive device. Luckett told the court that individual "is assessed to be an Iranian national and most likely operating from within Iran."

Specifically, the pair are accused of receiving instructions to manufacture a chlorine bomb and of acquiring the necessary liquids, components and equipment. They are further alleged to have used the internet to research potential targets, obtaining images, plans and maps of locations, and conducting physical reconnaissance.

Both men arrived in the UK illegally on small boats. Salehi reached Britain in 2020, having previously claimed asylum in Germany and spent five years there; he was granted asylum in the UK in 2023 and holds leave to remain until July 2028. Ahmadyan arrived in 2023 and has an outstanding asylum claim, the court heard.

Searches were carried out at addresses on Epworth Street in Liverpool and Lancaster Road in Salford as part of the investigation.

District Judge Nina Tempia remanded both men in custody. They are next due to appear at the Old Bailey for a hearing on 23 October.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans, CTP senior national co-ordinator, said there is no ongoing threat to the public. "I'm aware that the news of this alleged plot coming during the High Holy Day period has caused a great deal of concern to the Jewish community, as well as with the wider public," she said. "It also coincides with the anniversary of the devastating terrorist attack last year at Heaton Park synagogue and comes in a wider context of increasing antisemitic incidents across the UK."

Evans added that the case and a separate investigation into a suspected terror plot at RAF Fairford are not connected, and said CTP is "using the full range of our capabilities to protect the UK from any hostile acts." A sixth man arrested in connection with the RAF Fairford incident has been released on bail, CTP confirmed.

Source: Google News IE — Crime (en)