Two Iranian men charged in plot to target British Jewish community | Today’s news

Two Iranian nationals who entered the UK in small boats have been charged with planning terrorist acts, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement, with tensions between Britain and Iran already high over another security incident.

The men, identified by police as Salam Ahmadyan, 36, from Liverpool, and Rahman Salehi, 34, from Salford, were arrested in Manchester on September 20 on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack on the city’s Jewish community.

“The two men are alleged to have been in contact with an overseas third party who may be involved in the plot in Iran,” the Met said.

The charges come less than a week after five men were arrested near Fairford Royal Air Force Base in Gloucestershire, England – a facility used to launch US strikes on Iran – on suspicion of preparing a terrorist incident. While the five were later released on bail, police said on Thursday they had also arrested a British-Iranian dual national.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said earlier this week there were “strong indications that Iran played a role” in the matter at RAF Fairford. The Iranian embassy in London denied the claims.

Vicki Evans, senior national counter-terrorism co-ordinator, said this week had “focused on some of the wider threats emanating from Iran to the UK”. But she added that the alleged plot in Manchester and the RAF Fairford matter were “not connected in any way”.

Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood said “recent events are a stark reminder of the threats posed to this country by both terrorists and foreign state actors”.

“I know this will be particularly true in Manchester as we mark one year since the Heaton Park Synagogue terrorist attack,” she added in a statement, referring to the fatal stabbing of two people on Yom Kippur last year.

The two men charged in the latest case arrived in small boats in 2020 and 2023, the Interior Ministry said. One has been granted asylum and the other has a live asylum claim.

“The fact that both suspects arrived in a small boat several years ago is a reminder of the importance of our tireless work to tackle illegal migration to this country,” Mahmood said.

Both men have been remanded in custody and are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Saturday.

This article was generated from an automated news agency source without text modification.