Two Iranian nationals have been charged with preparing terrorist acts after allegedly conducting surveillance on a Manchester synagogue that was the site of a deadly attack one year prior, according to prosecutors.
Salam Ahmadyan, 36, and Rahman Salehi, 34, were arrested last month and appeared in Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday, where they were ordered held until an October 23 appearance at the Central Criminal Court in London.
The charges stem from an alleged plot to bomb the Heaton Park Congregation Synagogue using a homemade chlorine device. Prosecutor Mark Luckett stated that the defendants were directed by a third individual believed to be located in Iran, who coordinated the plans and provided instructions for constructing the bomb. The pair were observed carrying out a hostile reconnaissance within the Jewish community in Manchester.
What the Left Is Saying
Vicki Evans, senior national coordinator of counterterror policing, acknowledged that the news of the alleged plot arriving during the High Holy Days has caused significant concern within the Jewish community.
Evans noted that the timing coincides with the anniversary of the devastating attack at Heaton Park synagogue and occurs within a broader context of increasing antisemitic incidents across the U.K., heightening existing anxieties among Jewish residents.
What the Right Is Saying
The court was told that both defendants entered the U.K. without authorization in the past six years after crossing the English Channel by small boat.
Salehi was granted asylum in the U.K., while Ahmadyan currently holds a pending asylum claim, facts that highlight the intersection of immigration status and the alleged terror plot directed by individuals believed to be in Iran.
What the Numbers Show
The Heaton Park Congregation Synagogue was the site of a terrorist attack on October 2, 2025, during Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.
In that incident, Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, crashed a car into the synagogue gates and conducted a knife attack while wearing a fake suicide belt. Two men, Melvin Cravitz, 66, and Adrian Daulby, 53, were killed, and three others were seriously wounded. Al-Shamie, who allegedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, was killed by police.
Evans stated that the current plot is believed to be isolated with no ongoing public threat and is unconnected to a separate suspected terror plot at RAF Fairford air base, which some officials have linked to Tehran.
The Bottom Line
This development marks the first major counter-terrorism arrest in the UK related to the Manchester synagogue since the October 2025 attack. The case will proceed to the Central Criminal Court in London in late October. Authorities have assessed the current threat level as manageable, noting that the alleged plot was disrupted before it could be executed.