British prosecutors charged two Iranian nationals over an alleged plot to bomb Jewish targets in Manchester, revealing encrypted instructions from a handler believed to be in Iran.
British counter-terrorism authorities charged two Iranian nationals on Friday over an alleged plot to bomb Jewish targets in Manchester, a case prosecutors say involved encrypted communications with a handler believed to be overseas in Iran.
Rahman Salehi, 34, of Salford, and Salam Ahmadyan, 36, of Liverpool, each face a charge of preparing to commit an act of terrorism or assisting another to commit an act of terrorism. The men were arrested on September 20 in Newton Street in Manchester's Northern Quarter, in broad daylight just before 3 p.m., only hours before Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.
The disclosure that both men reached Britain by small boat -- one in 2020 and the other in 2023 -- turned the case into an immediate flashpoint over illegal migration and border security, even as investigators described a plot that had already moved from intent to preparation.
The charges allege the two men used encrypted applications to communicate with others as they sought components to assemble a homemade explosive device. Prosecutors say they obtained a document titled "Steps for Making a Powder Chlorine and Car Brake Oil/Fluid Bomb," secured video instructions for building an improvised explosive device, and gathered the liquids, components and equipment needed to build one.
Investigators also allege the pair researched potential targets online, acquired images, plans and maps of those targets, and carried out reconnaissance before the plot was disrupted. Search teams raided properties on Epworth Street in Liverpool and Lancaster Road in Salford as part of the investigation.
Police stated that the two men were in contact with a third party overseas, most likely in Iran, who was directing the effort to get a bomb to attack Jewish targets.
The Manchester case lands amid a broader escalation of Iranian hostile activity on British soil. Five men were arrested near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire over a weekend scare, along with three vans, one of which held petrol in a barrel. Those men were released on bail, and police said the two investigations are not connected.
That separate inquiry echoes the earlier scare at the base, where counter-terror officers descended on the area around a US bomber base, prompting evacuations and a bomb squad search of vans. The timing has sharpened scrutiny of how far Iran is willing to push its campaign into the West.
Vicki Evans, deputy assistant commissioner and the senior national coordinator for counter-terrorism, said the week had brought the wider threats being projected into the United Kingdom from Iran into sharp focus, and said police were using the full range of their capabilities to protect the country from hostile acts.
Britain's home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said it is no secret that the country faces serious threats from the Iranian regime, which she said targets Jewish communities and tries to silence its critics overseas, often through proxies and criminal networks. Tehran's embassy in London has denied any involvement in the RAF Fairford events.
The timing is not lost on Washington. American forces have struck Iran directly in recent months, and Britain has allowed RAF Fairford to be used for what London describes as defensive operations by its U.S. ally -- a decision that has drawn Tehran's anger.
The charges fall exactly one year after the attack on the Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester, where two worshippers and the attacker were killed. Antisemitic attacks in Britain have risen sharply since the October 7, 2023, Hamas assault on Israel.
The Community Safety Trust, which advises British Jews on security, called the new charges deeply concerning and urged the community to remain calm and report anything suspicious. Mahmood said authorities would be unrelenting in protecting Jewish communities, rooting out antisemitism and maintaining border security.
Salehi and Ahmadyan are due to appear at Westminster magistrates court on October 3. Frank Ferguson, head of the Crown Prosecution Service's special crime and counter-terrorism division, said prosecutors established there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to court, while cautioning that proceedings are active and both defendants have the right to a fair trial.
The case now tests Britain's response on two fronts at once: the reach of Iranian intelligence and proxy networks into the United Kingdom, and a migration system that let both suspects in before the plot took shape. For the Jewish community in Manchester, the anniversary week has become a reminder that the threat did not end with the Heaton Park attack.
British prosecutors charged two Iranian nationals over an alleged plot to bomb Jewish targets in Manchester, revealing encrypted instructions from a handler believed to be in Iran.
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