UK Prosecutors Charge Two Iranian Nationals Over Alleged Manchester Terror Plot

The UK Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said on Friday, October 2, 2026 (10 Mehr 1405), that two Iranian nationals, Rahman Salehi, 34, and Salam Ahmadyan, 36, have been charged with preparing to commit or assist in an act of terrorism in Manchester on or before Yom Kippur, which began at sundown on September 20. According to Al Jazeera, police said the pair were in contact with an overseas third party who may be in Iran, and had tried to acquire components for an improvised explosive device and conducted reconnaissance on potential targets. Salehi and Ahmadyan were arrested in Manchester on September 20; the UK Home Office said both had arrived in Britain years earlier by small boat from Europe, with one granted asylum and the other having a pending claim. UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said Iran targets Britain's Jewish community and its critics abroad through proxies. Police stressed there is no connection to the separate RAF Fairford case, in which a dual UK-Iranian national was arrested on Thursday, October 1, and which Iran has denied any involvement in. Salehi and Ahmadyan are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Saturday, October 3.