Two Charged Over Alleged Yom Kippur-Eve Plot Against Manchester's Jewish Community
Two Iranian nationals have been charged with preparation of terrorist acts linked to an alleged plot against 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 helping another person to do so. The Crown Prosecution Service, the public body that decides whether criminal cases go to court, announced the charging decision on 2 October 2026. It said the alleged preparation took place in Greater Manchester on the eve of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism, a day of fasting and prayer. Crown Prosecution Service
Salehi and Ahmadyan were arrested on 20 September, also 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, a law that lets police hold terror suspects longer for questioning than in ordinary cases. After arrest, they were held in custody at a London police station.
Police searched properties on Epworth Street in Liverpool and Lancaster Road in Salford as part of the investigation. The charges followed authorisation from the CPS. Salehi and Ahmadyan are due to appear at Westminster magistrates' court on 3 October.
Counter-terrorism police said the investigation had 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 special crime and counter-terrorism division, which authorised the charges.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said both suspects arrived by small boat several years ago.
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, in the same city and around the same holy day as a prior lethal attack, focuses attention on protective security and on police timing. For specialists, the sequence from detention in London under section 41 to searches in Liverpool and Salford to an appearance in Westminster points to a nationally coordinated case with a Greater Manchester focus.
Looking to what comes next, restraint is needed. The charge of preparing terrorist acts can cover a wide range of alleged conduct, and the line between preparation and assistance will only become clear when detailed allegations are laid out in court. The small-boat detail is politically charged. In my view, it should be kept 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 counter-terrorism police announce further restrictions or related activity.
