JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Two Iranian nationals have been charged in Britain over an alleged plot to carry out a terrorist attack against the Jewish community in Manchester around Yom Kippur, with prosecutors telling a London court that the suspects had identified the city’s Jewish Museum and a synagogue previously targeted in a deadly attack as potential targets.

The suspects, Rahman Salehi, 34, of Salford, and Salam Ahmadyan, 36, of Liverpool, were arrested in Manchester on September 20, shortly before the start of Yom Kippur. They were charged on Friday with engaging in conduct in preparation for terrorist acts, contrary to Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006.

The two men appeared before Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Saturday and were remanded in custody. They are scheduled to appear at the Old Bailey, London’s Central Criminal Court, on October 23. Neither man entered a plea.

According to prosecutors, the men allegedly carried out what was described as “hostile reconnaissance” of Manchester’s Jewish community, researching potential targets including the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue and the Jewish Museum in nearby Cheetham Hill.

The Heaton Park synagogue was itself the scene of a deadly terrorist attack on Yom Kippur last year. On October 2, 2025, two worshippers, Melvin Cravitz, 66, and Adrian Daulby, 53, were murdered when terrorist Jihad Al-Shamie attacked the synagogue. Three other people were seriously injured.

British prosecutors allege that Salehi and Ahmadyan attempted to obtain materials and equipment needed to manufacture a homemade explosive device. Among the material they are accused of obtaining was a document containing instructions for making a bomb using chlorine powder and car brake fluid, as well as video instructions on assembling an improvised explosive device.

The investigation also allegedly uncovered evidence that the two men were in contact with a third person overseas. Police said the individual may be located in Iran, while prosecutors told the court that the person was believed to be an Iranian national who directed and coordinated the alleged attack and provided instructions on preparing the explosive device.

British authorities said the investigation had disrupted the alleged plot and that there is no ongoing threat to the public connected to the case. Police also stressed that the investigation was carried out jointly with Britain’s security services.

The case has also drawn attention to the immigration histories of the suspects. Both men are Iranian nationals who entered Britain by small boats, according to British authorities. Salehi arrived in 2020 and was later granted asylum, while Ahmadyan arrived in 2023 and has a pending asylum application.

British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the arrests demonstrated the seriousness of the threats facing the country from Iran and other hostile actors. She said Iran has sought to target Jewish communities and critics of the regime overseas, sometimes through criminal networks and intermediaries.

Mahmood said the allegations would cause “deep distress” to Britain’s Jewish communities, particularly in Manchester, where the arrests came almost exactly a year after the deadly attack on the Heaton Park synagogue. She pledged that the government would act “resolutely and relentlessly” to protect Jewish communities, combat antisemitism and maintain the security of Britain’s borders.

The arrests come amid heightened British concern over alleged Iranian activity in the United Kingdom. However, authorities have said the Manchester investigation is separate from another recent suspected Iranian plot involving RAF Fairford, a U.S.-linked military facility in Gloucestershire.