UK court remands two Iranians over alleged plot targeting Jewish sites

A London court has remanded two Iranian nationals accused of plotting terrorist acts against the United Kingdom’s Jewish community. Rahman S., 34, and Salam A., 36, were detained on September 20, the eve of Yom Kippur. Prosecutor Mark Luckett told Westminster Magistrates’ Court that they were accused of carrying out hostile reconnaissance on Jewish targets in Manchester.

The prosecution alleged that the men planned to use a homemade explosive device and had been in contact with a third Iranian national believed to be operating from Iran. The contact allegedly provided instructions for assembling a device using chlorine and brake fluid. The court heard that the suspects used online images, plans and maps to identify possible attack sites.

Prosecutors said these included the Manchester Jewish Museum and the Heaton Park synagogue, where two Jewish worshippers were killed in a knife attack a year earlier. The pair allegedly arrived in Britain in small boats from mainland Europe. One had been granted asylum, while the other’s application remained pending, the court heard.

Neither entered a plea. They were remanded until their next hearing at the Old Bailey on October 23. Vicki Evans, the senior national coordinator of counterterror policing, said the alleged Manchester plot was believed to be isolated and that there was no ongoing public threat.

She also said it was not connected to a separate suspected plot involving RAF Fairford. A British-Iranian national arrested in that investigation was released on police bail on Saturday. Five other men arrested in connection with that inquiry had also been bailed.

Iran has rejected as baseless accusations linked to the RAF Fairford investigation. British authorities remain on alert over possible threats linked to Iran and Russia.