Two Iranians appear in UK court over alleged plot to target Jews

London: Two Iranian nationals have appeared in a London court charged with plotting acts of terrorism involving the use of a homemade bomb to attack the Jewish community in northern England at the behest of a figure believed to be based in Iran.

Rahman Salehi, 34, and Salam Ahmadyan, 36, were arrested on September 20 at the start of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, when they are accused of carrying out hostile surveillance on potential Jewish targets in Manchester, prosecutors say.

These targets included the Manchester Jewish Museum and Heaton Park synagogue, the scene of a deadly attack almost a year ago in which two Jewish worshippers were killed, prosecutor Mark Luckett told Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Saturday (London time).

“Both defendants are accused of preparing acts of terrorism targeting the Jewish community in Manchester through the use of a homemade explosive device,” Luckett said.

He said the men were accused of being in contact with a third party who is alleged to have directed and co-ordinated the attack planning and provided instructions on how to assemble a homemade bomb.

“It’s assessed that this individual is also an Iranian national and most likely operating from within Iran,” Luckett said.

The court was told both men had travelled to Britain from Europe in small boats. Salehi had arrived in 2020 and had been granted asylum, while Ahmadyan came in 2023 and his asylum claim was still outstanding, Luckett said.

The men did not enter a plea and were remanded in custody until their next hearing at London’s Old Bailey court on October 23.

The case comes a week after Britain said Iran was believed to be involved in a suspected plot to target the RAF Fairford air base, which the US military has used to carry out raids against targets in Iran, leading to a dual British-Iranian national being arrested on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts.

Police said on Saturday that he had been released on police bail while the investigation continued. British counterterrorism police have said the Manchester allegations were not connected to the Fairford investigation.

Iran has rejected accusations of involvement in a number of plots in Britain in recent years, and said allegations it was connected to the Fairford incident were baseless.

Britain has also seen a significant rise in antisemitism since the Hamas attacks on Israel in October 2023 that triggered the war in Gaza, including a series of attacks on Jewish sites in London earlier this year.

“It is no secret that this country faces a range of serious threats from the Iranian regime,” British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said in a statement.

“They target our Jewish communities and try to silence their critics overseas, often through proxies and criminal networks to hide their involvement.”

Reuters

Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.