Manchester Terror Plot Allegations Heighten UK Security Concerns

British authorities have charged Iranian nationals Rahman Salehi, 34, and Salam Ahmadyan, 36, with preparing to commit or assisting another person to commit a terrorist act in Manchester. Prosecutors allege the plan was intended to target the Jewish community on or before Yom Kippur, which began at sundown on September 20, 2026. Police say the men, arrested in Manchester on September 20, sought equipment and components for an improvised explosive device and conducted reconnaissance of potential targets. Authorities say the alleged plot was disrupted, but have not disclosed further details. Police allege the men were in contact with an overseas third party who may have been in Iran. The two are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the men arrived in the UK by small boat from Europe several years ago; one had been granted asylum and the other had an active asylum claim. She accused Iran of targeting Jewish communities and critics overseas, often using proxies and criminal networks. Iran has denied similar accusations. The charges were announced during the High Holy Days and one year after a deadly attack at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester, where two people were killed. Counterterrorism police said the timing had caused concern among Jewish people and the wider public, amid increasing antisemitic incidents in the UK. Detectives said the Manchester case was not connected to a separate suspected plot involving RAF Fairford, for which a dual UK-Iranian national was arrested. Britain has alleged Iranian involvement in that case; Tehran denied involvement and said speculation would fuel “Iranophobia propaganda.”

Two Iranian nationals, Salam Ahmadyan, 36, and Rahman Salehi, 34, have been charged in the United Kingdom with plotting a terror attack against Manchester’s Jewish community, according to British police. The men, who live in Liverpool and Salford respectively, appeared in Westminster Magistrates’ Court but did not enter pleas. They were ordered held until an Oct. 23 appearance at London’s Central Criminal Court. Police allege the suspects were in contact with an overseas third party, possibly in Iran, in connection with the plot. The Associated Press reported that the third party gave instructions for making a homemade chlorine bomb. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans said authorities did not believe there was an ongoing public threat related to the case. The arrests occurred nearly a year after an attack at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester on Oct. 2, 2025, in which two people were killed during Yom Kippur. Home Minister Shabana Mahmood said the new allegations would be distressing for Jewish communities, particularly in Manchester as the anniversary approached. She also said both suspects had arrived in the country by small boat several years earlier. The AP reported that Salehi had been granted asylum and Ahmadyan’s asylum claim was pending. The article places the case amid other recent security incidents involving Jewish or Israel-linked locations and alleged terrorist plots. Five British men were arrested near RAF Fairford on Sept. 27 on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act and later released on bail. A 25-year-old dual U.K.-Iranian national was also arrested in London on suspicion of plotting an attack near the air base and released on bail. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the government believed Iran had played a part in the Sept. 27 incident; Iran denied involvement.

Two Iranian nationals, Rahman S., 34, and Salam A., 36, have been remanded in custody in London after being charged with plotting terrorist acts against the United Kingdom’s Jewish community. Prosecutor Mark Luckett told Westminster Magistrates’ Court that the men allegedly conducted hostile reconnaissance on Jewish sites in Manchester, including the Manchester Jewish Museum and Heaton Park synagogue. The synagogue was the scene of a deadly knife attack the previous year, in which two Jewish worshippers were killed. According to the prosecution, the suspects planned to use a homemade explosive device and had communicated with a third Iranian national believed to be operating from Iran. That person allegedly instructed them on how to make a device using chlorine and brake fluid. The men are also accused of using online images, plans, and maps to identify and research possible targets. They were detained on September 20, the eve of Yom Kippur. Neither entered a plea, and both are due to appear at the Old Bailey on October 23. One had been granted asylum in the UK, while the other’s asylum application remained pending. Counter-terrorism police said the Manchester case was believed to be isolated and posed no continuing public threat. Senior national coordinator Vicki Evans also said it was not connected to a separate suspected plot at RAF Fairford. In that investigation, a dual British-Iranian national arrested on Thursday was released on police bail; five other men, all British nationals in their 20s from London, had also been arrested and bailed. The Fairford investigation began after a farmer reported suspicious vans near the base. Police found petrol but no explosives. Iran has rejected accusations of involvement in that suspected plot. The article places both investigations amid heightened UK concern about potential threats from Russia and Iran, and notes previous Iranian-linked attacks and plots against Jewish targets and dissidents in Britain. It also reports that antisemitic attacks more broadly have risen sharply since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.

A 25-year-old dual British-Iranian national arrested in London on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts near RAF Fairford has been released on bail, British authorities said Saturday. He is the sixth person arrested and subsequently released on bail as police investigate a security incident near the U.S.-run air base. The five other suspects are British men in their 20s from London; police have not identified them. The incident prompted the evacuation of residents near RAF Fairford early Sunday, while armed police and army bomb-disposal specialists searched the rural area. Police said they found gasoline, described as an accelerant, in three vans linked to the five earlier suspects, but no explosives. Authorities have not disclosed what the suspects may have been planning. British officials have connected the incident to Tehran, and Prime Minister Andy Burnham said there were “strong indications” Iran had played a part, without offering details. Iran denied involvement, while saying previously that it considers any base used to attack Iranian territory a legitimate target. The arrests and bail decisions have drawn criticism from senior U.S. officials. President Donald Trump said he would not have granted bail, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said many people were “disturbed” by the decision. RAF Fairford, about 100 miles west of London, has been used by U.S. bombers in conflicts in the Middle East, including the current war with Iran. The investigation is unfolding amid heightened concern in Britain about activity attributed to hostile states. British security services reported a 50% increase in national security cases involving such activity, including Iran, in the six months to December 2025. U.K. officials have also said Iran-linked proxies were behind arsons and other attacks in Britain and elsewhere, often targeting Jewish communities, and warned that Tehran might widen its targets if Middle East conflicts continue.

Two Iranian nationals, Salam Ahmadyan, 36, and Rahman Salehi, 34, were charged in the UK with allegedly plotting an attack against Jewish people in Manchester on Yom Kippur. British counterterrorism police say the men obtained homemade explosive materials through encrypted messaging apps, consulted a document describing how to make a bomb using powder chlorine and car brake fluid, and gathered images, plans, and maps of potential targets. Authorities also allege they conducted reconnaissance. The men were arrested in Manchester on September 20, the day before Yom Kippur. Police say the alleged plot coincided with the anniversary of a previous attack at Heaton Park Synagogue that killed two worshippers. The suspects lived in Liverpool and Salford and were allegedly in contact with a third party, possibly in Iran. The British government says both are believed to have entered the country illegally in recent years using migrant-smuggling boats. The arrests came amid separate concerns about possible Iran-linked activity in Britain. Days earlier, police investigated a suspected plot near RAF Fairford after explosives were reported in vans close to the base, which is used by the US Air Force for missions to Iran. The material was later identified as gasoline; five British nationals arrested in connection with the incident were released on bail, and the investigation continues. A separate 25-year-old Iranian national was arrested in London on suspicion of planning an attack at the air force base. Authorities have not established that the incidents are connected. A senior counterterrorism official said the events had highlighted wider threats from Iran. Iran has denied involvement in the Fairford incident, while the article says it had not responded to reports about the alleged Manchester plot. Government minister Shabana Mahmood said the news would be distressing for Jewish communities, particularly in Manchester.

British counter-terrorism police said on October 3 that a 25-year-old dual UK-Iranian national arrested in connection with a suspected plot involving RAF Fairford had been released on bail. He was detained on October 1 on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts. Police said searches at two London properties had concluded, while the broader investigation into events in Gloucestershire continued. The incident began in the early hours of September 27, when five British men in their 20s were arrested near RAF Fairford, a base in western England used by US bombers. The men were suspected of terrorism and explosives-related offences and were later released without charge on police bail under stringent conditions. Detectives said petrol was found in three vans near the men, but no improvised explosive device was present. Police have described the investigation as complex and are examining whether a foreign state was involved. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said an Iranian link was possible. US President Donald Trump said there had been a plan to cause “big damage” at the base, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio referred to the possible involvement of a foreign actor. Iran denies involvement, calling the accusations baseless, and summoned the British ambassador in Tehran on October 1 over the claims. The article reports the allegations and investigation but does not establish that a plot or foreign involvement has been proven.

Two Iranian nationals, Rahman Salehi, 34, and Salam Ahmadyan, 36, appeared in Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London on charges related to an alleged terrorist plot targeting Jewish sites in Manchester. Prosecutors say the men conducted hostile surveillance of potential targets on September 20, the start of Yom Kippur. The sites named include the Manchester Jewish Museum and Heaton Park synagogue, where two worshippers were killed in an attack almost a year earlier. Prosecutor Mark Luckett told the court that the alleged plan involved a homemade explosive device made from chlorine and brake fluid. The men are accused of working with a third party who allegedly directed and coordinated the planning and provided instructions for assembling the device. Prosecutors believe that person is an Iranian national operating from Iran. The defendants did not enter pleas and were remanded in custody until a further hearing at the Old Bailey on October 23. The article notes that both men entered Britain from Europe in small boats: Salehi arrived in 2020 and was granted asylum, while Ahmadyan arrived in 2023 and has an outstanding asylum claim. The Manchester investigation is separate from a suspected plot involving RAF Fairford, which Britain recently said Iran was believed to be involved in. A dual British-Iranian national arrested in that investigation was released on police bail, and Iran has denied involvement in alleged plots. The report also places the case amid increased antisemitism in Britain since the Hamas attacks on Israel in October 2023 and the subsequent Gaza war, including attacks on Jewish sites in London. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said Iran’s regime poses serious threats and accused it of targeting Jewish communities and silencing critics through proxies and criminal networks.