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Two Iranian Men Charged in UK Synagogue Bomb Plot
Confirmed
In Short: Two Iranian men were charged with planning to bomb a Manchester synagogue, according to prosecutors.
Two Iranian men, Salam Ahmadyan, 36, and Rahman Salehi, 34, were charged with preparing terrorist acts against the Jewish community in Manchester, according to prosecutors. They allegedly conducted surveillance of the Heaton Park Congregation Synagogue and the Jewish Museum in Cheetham Hill.
The pair was directed by a third person in Iran, who provided instructions for a homemade chlorine bomb, prosecutors said. The chlorine device was intended to release toxic gas.
The Heaton Park synagogue was the site of a deadly attack on Yom Kippur last year, when Jihad Al-Shamie crashed his car into the gates and began a knife attack while wearing a fake suicide belt.
Mark Luckett, the prosecutor, told the court that Ahmadyan and Salehi carried out a hostile reconnaissance within Manchester’s Jewish community. He noted that the alleged plot has caused significant concern among the Jewish community, especially during the High Holy Day period.
Evans, another prosecutor, acknowledged the heightened concerns among the Jewish community, noting the coincidence with the anniversary of last year’s attack and the context of increasing antisemitic incidents across the U.K.
Authorities assured the public that the plot is isolated and there is no ongoing threat. However, the timing of the alleged plot has raised fears and heightened security measures within the Jewish community.
What's confirmed
- LONDON (AP) — Two Iranian men conducted surveillance of a Manchester synagogue that was the site of a deadly attack a year ago as part of a plot to bomb it this year, a prosecutor said Saturday.
- Salam Ahmadyan, 36, and Rahman Salehi, 34, researched attacking the Heaton Park Congregation Synagogue in Manchester in northwest England and the Jewish Museum in nearby Cheetham Hill, the court was told.
- A third person in Iran allegedly directed them, providing instructions for a homemade bomb.
- Authorities say the plot is isolated and there’s no ongoing threat.
What's still developing
- Nothing material beyond the confirmed record.