Two Charged Over Alleged Plot Targeting Manchester's Jewish Community

Two Iranian nationals have been charged with preparation of terrorist acts in connection with an alleged plot targeting the Jewish community in Manchester. The Guardian

Rahman Salehi, 35, and Salam Ahmadyan, 36, are accused of preparing to commit an act of terrorism or assisting another to commit an act of terrorism. The Crown Prosecution Service announced the charging decision on 2 October 2026. It stated the alleged preparation occurred in Greater Manchester on the eve of Yom Kippur. Crown Prosecution Service

Salehi and Ahmadyan were arrested on 20 September, on the eve of Yom Kippur. The arrests took place on Newton Street in the Northern Quarter area of Manchester city centre. They were detained under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000. After arrest, they were held in custody at a London police station.

Police searches were carried out at properties on Epworth Street in Liverpool and Lancaster Road in Salford as part of the investigation. The timing was specific. Charges followed CPS authorisation. Salehi and Ahmadyan are due to appear at Westminster magistrates' court on 3 October.

Counter-terrorism police said the investigation disrupted what they believed was a plot targeting the Jewish community in Manchester. Vicki Evans is the senior national coordinator for counter-terrorism police. Frank Ferguson is head of the CPS's special crime and counter-terrorism division, which authorised the charges.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said both suspects arrived by small boat several years ago. That assertion, attributed to the Home Secretary, introduces an immigration history into a terrorism prosecution. It will be tested against evidence presented in court rather than ministerial statements.

The charges follow a separate attack last year. Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, was shot dead by armed police after launching a terror attack during Yom Kippur at Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester. Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, were killed in that attack, while three others were injured.

The broader context here is calendar, community and precedent. An alleged plot timed to the eve of Yom Kippur, directed at the same city and the same holy day as a prior lethal attack, concentrates attention on protective security and investigative timing. For practitioners, the sequence from section 41 detention in London to searches in Liverpool and Salford to a Westminster appearance points to a nationally coordinated case with a Greater Manchester focus.

Looking at what this means for the next phase, restraint matters. The charge of engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorist acts covers a wide range of alleged conduct, and the distinction between preparation and assistance will only become clear through particulars laid before the court. The small-boat detail is politically charged. In my view, it should be kept analytically separate from the evidential question of what the defendants allegedly did, where and when, unless prosecutors make it part of their case. The immediate test is procedural: what is disclosed on 3 October, how the CPS frames the allegation, and whether further restrictions or related activity are announced by counter-terrorism police.