Two Iranian men have been charged over an alleged Manchester synagogue plot targeting the city’s Jewish community, prosecutors said. Salam Ahmadyan, 36, and Rahman Salehi, 34, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Saturday and entered no pleas.
Prosecutor Mark Luckett told the court the men are accused of preparing acts of terrorism with a homemade explosive device. The charges are allegations, and neither man has been tried.
Manchester synagogue plot allegations
Prosecutors allege the men carried out “hostile reconnaissance” of Jewish sites in Manchester, including the Heaton Park synagogue and the Jewish Museum in Cheetham Hill. They say the pair received instructions from an individual believed to be operating from Iran, including how to assemble a chlorine bomb. The court heard the men also gathered images, plans and maps of potential targets.
Police arrested the men on Sept. 20, according to ITV News, just before Yom Kippur began. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans of Counter Terrorism Policing called it a “long-running, proactive investigation.”
Court status and next steps
District Judge Nina Tempia ordered both men held in custody until their next hearing in the Manchester synagogue plot case at the Old Bailey on Oct. 23. No pleas have been entered at this stage.
Context and community impact
The Heaton Park synagogue was the site of a deadly attack on Oct. 2, 2025, during Yom Kippur services. Attacker Jihad al-Shamie, 35, killed two worshippers, Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, before police shot him dead.
The Community Security Trust, a charity that protects Jewish communities in Britain, called the alleged Manchester synagogue plot “utterly chilling” because of its closeness to the anniversary of last year’s attack.
The arrests came during the Jewish High Holy Days and close to the anniversary of last year’s attack. For more on how the holiday fits into the Jewish calendar, see our guide to September holidays.
Separately, counter-terrorism police in London arrested a dual British-Iranian national on suspicion of plotting a terror attack, in a case tied to a security scare at RAF Fairford.
