Two Iranian nationals accused of plotting terror attacks against the Jewish community in Manchester were remanded in custody by Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Saturday.
Prosecutor Mark Luckett told the court that Rahman S., 34, and Salam A., 36, conducted “hostile reconnaissance” on potential targets in northern England. The targets allegedly included the Manchester Jewish Museum and the Heaton Park synagogue, where two Jewish worshippers were killed in a knife attack a year earlier.
According to prosecutors, the suspects used online resources, maps, and plans to identify and research attack sites. The court heard that the pair had been in contact with a third party, an Iranian national believed to be operating from within Iran, who provided instructions on assembling a homemade explosive device using chlorine and brake fluid.
The suspects were detained on Sept. 20, the eve of Yom Kippur, and charged on Friday. Court proceedings revealed that one of the suspects had previously been granted asylum in the United Kingdom, while the other’s application remains pending.
Neither man entered a plea during Saturday’s proceedings. Both were remanded in custody until their next scheduled court appearance at London’s Old Bailey on Oct. 23.
Vicki Evans, senior national coordinator for counterterrorism policing, said the alleged plot is believed to be isolated and poses no ongoing public threat. Evans clarified that the Manchester case is not connected to a separate suspected terror plot at RAF Fairford.
In the RAF Fairford investigation, police reported Saturday that a 25-year-old dual British-Iranian national arrested Thursday was released on bail. Five other men, all British nationals in their 20s from London, were previously arrested and released on police bail as that investigation continues. Officers found petrol inside vans linked to the case but discovered no explosives. Unconfirmed UK media reports stated that one of the suspects dialed police about an hour before the arrests occurred. Iranian officials in Tehran have rejected allegations of involvement in the RAF Fairford incident as baseless.
Sources
– [DW News](https://www.dw.com/en/uk-remands-2-iranians-over-alleged-antisemitic-terror-plot/a-79532184?maca=en-rss-en-world-4025-rdf)
Source: DW News
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Story synopsis gathered from: DW News — source
