Two men charged over alleged Manchester Jewish community terror plot

What happened

Two Iranian nationals have been charged with terrorism offences following an investigation into an alleged bomb plot against Jewish people in Manchester. Police believe they disrupted preparations for an attack and say they do not consider the alleged plot to present a continuing danger to the public.

The defendants are Rahman Salehi, 34, who lives in Salford, and Salam Ahmadyan, 36, of Liverpool. The charges concern alleged preparations for terrorism, or help given to another person to carry out terrorism, on or before 20 September.

Officers arrested the pair during daylight hours on 20 September in Manchester’s Northern Quarter. The operation took place on the eve of Yom Kippur, the most sacred day of the Jewish religious calendar, following an investigation involving counter-terrorism police and the security service MI5.

The allegations cover several kinds of preparatory activity. Investigators say the men obtained materials for a homemade explosive device, sought instructions for its construction and examined possible places to attack. These remain criminal allegations to be considered through the courts.

Police allege that encrypted messaging applications were used to communicate with others about obtaining bomb components. The case also concerns a written bomb-making guide and video instructions, alongside the alleged acquisition of liquids and equipment intended for an improvised explosive device.

Investigators further accuse the men of researching prospective targets online, obtaining maps, plans and photographs, and conducting reconnaissance. Searches connected with the investigation took place at properties on Epworth Street in Liverpool and Lancaster Road in Salford.

An additional allegation concerns communication with a person outside Britain. Counter Terrorism Policing says that individual may be in Iran and that the contact related to the alleged plot. The location of the overseas contact is expressed as a possibility, rather than a settled finding.

The background

The charges were announced on 2 October, exactly a year after the attack at Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester. Two worshippers died in that attack. The attacker, who expressed support for Islamic State, was shot dead by police.

That earlier attack involved a car being driven into the synagogue gates before a worshipper was fatally stabbed. Its anniversary falls within a period of particular religious significance for Jewish communities, with the latest alleged plot coming around the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

The government disclosed the defendants’ immigration circumstances shortly after police announced the charges. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said both had reached Britain in small boats, with one arrival in 2020 and the other in 2023. One man had received asylum and the other had an application awaiting a decision.

Both arrivals took place while the Conservatives were in government. Mahmood linked those circumstances to the government’s work on irregular migration, saying small-boat numbers had fallen but further action was needed. She also identified protection against antisemitism and the security of Britain’s borders as government priorities.

The Manchester case comes during a separate investigation into events near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. Five men were arrested in the countryside near the military base in the early hours of Sunday on suspicion of explosives offences and terrorist preparations. They have since been released on bail.

Three vans were involved in that incident, with a barrel containing petrol found in one. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said there were strong indications of Iranian involvement in the events near the base. Iran’s embassy in London denied involvement.

The United States has attacked Iran, and Britain has permitted its American ally to use RAF Fairford for operations the UK describes as defensive. Despite the wider concerns about Iran, counter-terrorism police have explicitly ruled out a connection between the Fairford investigation and the alleged Manchester plot.

What people are saying

Vicki Evans, deputy assistant commissioner and the national coordinator for counter-terrorism policing, described the charges as exceptionally serious. She said investigators believed their intervention had stopped a planned attack on Manchester’s Jewish community, while recognising the anxiety the case would cause beyond those directly targeted.

Evans also addressed the broader security picture, saying police and national security partners were deploying their capabilities against hostile activity affecting Britain. Her remarks placed the two separate investigations within wider concern about threats from Iran, while maintaining the distinction between the cases.

Mahmood said the announcement would be particularly upsetting for Jewish people in Manchester as they marked the synagogue attack’s anniversary. She also referred to the timing after Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and declined to discuss the criminal case further.

On the wider threat, the home secretary accused the Iranian regime of pursuing Jewish communities and opponents living abroad. She said proxies and criminal networks were used to conceal involvement, and pointed to additional powers and increased funding intended to disrupt hostile operations.

Terry Woods, deputy chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, said the anniversary and religious calendar heightened the impact on local Jewish communities. He pledged that existing policing arrangements would continue, including visible officers carrying out security work and speaking with residents.

The Community Safety Trust, which provides security support and advice to British Jews, urged people to stay calm and alert police or the trust to suspicious behaviour. It said the charges would cause concern nationally and underlined the continuing terrorist danger faced by Jewish communities.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage criticised the government after the small-boat arrivals were disclosed. He argued that border policy was exposing communities to danger and called for Mahmood to resign if she rejected his assessment. His intervention focused on immigration controls rather than the evidence underpinning the charges.

What happens next

Salehi and Ahmadyan are scheduled to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Saturday. That hearing brings the allegations before a court; the announcement of charges does not establish guilt. Both defendants retain the presumption of innocence as the criminal proceedings continue.

In England and Wales, a first appearance in a serious criminal case deals with initial procedural matters, including the defendant’s identity, the charges and custody or bail. It is not a trial of the evidence. Terrorism cases of this seriousness proceed through the Crown Court system.

The prosecution must prove a criminal charge beyond reasonable doubt. Allegations involving preparations concern conduct said to have taken place before an intended attack, rather than requiring a completed attack. That distinction is central to understanding why investigators describe this case as the disruption of a plot.

Why this matters

For Jewish residents and people attending religious services in Greater Manchester, the immediate practical response includes continued police visibility and engagement. The local force’s commitment covers security within Jewish communities, while the Community Safety Trust’s advice gives people a route to raise concerns about suspicious activity.

For the wider public, the case involves both domestic counter-terrorism work and an alleged overseas contact. Keeping those issues distinct matters: police have identified a possible contact in Iran, while their assurance about the absence of a continuing threat relates to the alleged Manchester plot, not every security risk facing Britain.