Two Iranian Men Accused of Plotting Chlorine Bomb Attack on UK Synagogue
Authorities say the suspects surveilled a Manchester synagogue with links to a previous deadly attack.
Two Iranian men have been accused of plotting to bomb a synagogue in Manchester, England, and of conducting surveillance on the site and a nearby Jewish museum, a prosecutor said.
Salam Ahmadyan, 36, and Rahman Salehi, 34, were arrested last month and charged with engaging in conduct in preparation for terrorist acts. Neither entered a plea during an appearance in Westminster Magistrates’ Court. A judge ordered them held until an Oct. 23 appearance at the Central Criminal Court in London.
Prosecutor Mark Luckett told the court that the men were directed by a third individual in Iran who coordinated plans and provided instructions for creating a homemade chlorine bomb. The defendants were observed conducting “a hostile reconnaissance within Manchester’s Jewish community,” Luckett stated.
The Heaton Park Congregation Synagogue, which the men allegedly targeted, was the site of a deadly attack on Oct. 2, 2025, during Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. In that incident, Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, crashed his car into the synagogue gates and began a knife attack while wearing a fake suicide belt. Congregation members Melvin Cravitz, 66, and Adrian Daulby, 53, died in the attack, and three other men were seriously wounded. Al-Shamie, who had reportedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, was killed by police.
Ahmadyan and Salehi entered the U.K. without authorization within the last six years after crossing the English Channel by boat. Salehi has been granted asylum, and Ahmadyan has a pending asylum claim.
Authorities believe the plot was isolated and pose no ongoing public threat. Vicki Evans, senior national coordinator of counterterror policing, stated that the alleged plot is unconnected to a separate suspected terror plot at the U.S.-run RAF Fairford air base, which some officials have suggested was linked to Tehran.
Evans acknowledged that the timing of the alleged plot, during the High Holy Day period and coinciding with the anniversary of last year's attack, would likely increase concerns within the Jewish community, especially amid rising antisemitic incidents across the U.K.