Iran-Organized UK Terror Plot: Bomb Manual Sent as Agents Recruited for Attack on Jewish Community

An Iranian plotter dispatched bomb-making instructions to the UK as part of a scheme to recruit agents for a planned atrocity in a major British city. A court heard on Friday that investigators discovered detailed steps for constructing a “powder chlorine and rake oil fluid bomb” within a document originating from Iran. Prosecutors allege that a terrorism suspect was found to possess instructions on his mobile phone for creating a homemade bomb intended to target Jewish individuals in the UK. Salam Ahmadyan, 36, and Rahman Salehi, 34, stand accused of plotting acts of terrorism at the direction of a regime agent believed to be based in Iran. The intended targets reportedly included the Manchester Jewish Museum and the Heaton Park synagogue, the site of a fatal attack a year prior that claimed the lives of two Jewish worshippers. Mr. Ahmadyan, who utilized a Kurdish Sorani interpreter, and Mr. Salehi were informed that their trial would commence in June in Manchester, facing charges related to terrorism offenses concerning the alleged plot. Both defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges. During a preliminary hearing at the Old Bailey in London, prosecutor Lydon Harris informed the court that Mr. Ahmadyan was approached by a third party to procure components for a homemade bomb around September 8 of this year. Ten days later, he enlisted Mr. Salehi’s assistance. Mr. Harris stated that Mr. Ahmadyan subsequently purchased various materials online. “On September 20, which was the date of the Jewish celebration of Yom Kippur, both defendants were observed by police officers driving through various areas of Manchester, taking photographs and video recordings of different locations,” the prosecutor told the court. “The Crown’s assertion is that this constituted reconnaissance conducted for the purpose of a future attack on the Jewish community in Manchester.” Mr. Harris further informed the court that the “police investigation has uncovered that Mr. Ahmadyan was in communication with a third party who appears to be located in Iran.” He added, “Analysis of his mobile telephone revealed that it contained a file, the English translation of which is ‘steps for making a powder chlorine and rake oil fluid bomb’.” Both suspects were interviewed by police, and Mr. Salehi denied any involvement in a terrorist plot, according to Mr. Harris. He noted that Mr. Ahmadyan declined to answer the questions posed to him. At a prior hearing, the court was informed that both suspects had arrived in Britain via small boats from Europe. Mr. Salehi arrived in 2020 and was granted asylum, while Mr. Ahmadyan arrived in 2023, and his asylum claim remained pending.