Almost exactly a year after a knife-and-gun attack tore through Yom Kippur services at a Manchester synagogue, British counter-terrorism police say they have disrupted a second plot aimed at the city's Jewish community — this time, they allege, with a line back to Tehran.

Salam Ahmadyan, 36, of Liverpool, and Rahman Salehi, 34, of Salford, both Iranian nationals, were charged with preparing to commit an act of terrorism after being arrested in Manchester on September 20, according to Al Jazeera's reporting on the charges. Prosecutors allege the pair tried to source components for an improvised explosive device and carried out reconnaissance on targets tied to the city's Jewish community, with the plot allegedly timed around Yom Kippur — the holiday that fell the day of their arrest.

Investigators say both men were in contact with an "overseas third party" they believe may be based in Iran. Both suspects reportedly reached Britain by small boat from Europe years ago; one has since been granted asylum, the other has a claim still pending, per the Times of Israel's account of the court filing.

A grim anniversary

The timing is impossible to ignore. On October 2, 2025, a knife-and-gun attack outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Crumpsall killed two worshippers during Yom Kippur services — one of the deadliest assaults on a British Jewish target in decades. The newly unsealed charges land almost exactly one year later, reviving fears for a community already marking the anniversary of a trauma that shook the whole country.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood tied the case to a broader pattern, saying Iran "target[s] our Jewish communities and tr[ies] to silence their critics overseas, often through proxies and criminal networks." Counter Terrorism Policing's Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans struck a more measured note, saying officers do "not believe there to be any ongoing threat to the public in relation to this matter."

"They target our Jewish communities and try to silence their critics overseas, often through proxies and criminal networks." — UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood

Ahmadyan and Salehi are due before Westminster Magistrates' Court on Saturday for their first formal hearing. Neither has entered a plea, and the investigation — spanning Greater Manchester Police's counter-terrorism unit and domestic intelligence services — remains active.

The case lands amid a year of rising friction between London and Tehran, with British officials repeatedly accusing Iran-linked operatives of plotting kidnappings, assassinations and attacks against dissidents, journalists and Jewish institutions on UK soil. Whether Saturday's hearing surfaces evidence of direct state direction from Tehran — or simply a freelance overseas contact — will shape how hard a line Britain takes with Iran in the weeks ahead.