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Two Iranians appear in UK court over alleged plot to target Jews

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Cite

Holden, M. (2026, October 4). Two Iranians appear in UK court over alleged plot to target Jews. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/two-iranians-appear-in-uk-court-over-alleged-plot-to-target-jews-20261004-p612oe.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

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The Sydney Morning Herald · collected 2026-10-04 · by Michael Holden

Quick Summary

Rahman Salehi and Salam Ahmadyan, two Iranian nationals, appeared in a London court charged with plotting terrorism against Jewish targets in Manchester using homemade explosives, at the direction of an alleged Iranian figure. They were arrested on September 20 during Yom Kippur while allegedly conducting surveillance on sites including the Manchester Jewish Museum and Heaton Park synagogue. Salehi arrived in Britain by boat in 2020 with asylum granted, whereas Ahmadyan came in 2023; both have been remanded until their next hearing on October 23. The case highlights concerns over Iranian involvement in anti-Jewish plots in the UK amid rising antisemitism following recent events in Israel and Gaza.
Written by AI on 2026-10-04, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On September 20, 2023, British police arrested two Iranian nationals, Rahman Salehi (35) and Salam Ahmadyan (36), in Manchester's Northern Quarter. They were charged with preparing to commit a terrorist act against the Jewish community on the eve of Yom Kippur, the holiest day for Jews. Counter-terrorism detectives alleged that the suspects had been in contact with an overseas third party potentially based in Iran. The arrests came amidst heightened security concerns following the previous year's deadly terror attack at Heaton Park synagogue and a rise in antisemitic incidents across the UK. Authorities have assured the public there is no ongoing threat, but the charges are described as "extremely serious." Salehi and Ahmadyan will appear before Westminster Magistrates' Court on Saturday.

Written for “Iranians Charged Terror Plot UK Jews” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 23 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Iranians Charged Terror Plot UK Jews
Crime & Law · 24 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans strongly right and hedges 6% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
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BBC News
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Hedges 2 of 9 claims Outlet record 59/100
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Hedges 4 of 18 claims Outlet record 60/100
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Hedges 1 of 3 claims Outlet record 78/100
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Hedges 1 of 14 claims Outlet record 60/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
16
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
6%
1 of 16 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans strongly right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
61/100
The Sydney Morning Herald's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
24
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-04 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Sydney Morning Herald · 6022 article(s) · 15 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 15 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Michael Holden
5 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction
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Also by Michael Holden
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Topics

Britain Iran Iranian Jewish London

Subjects

Jewish NORP · 7× Iran GPE · 5× London GPE · 5× Britain GPE · 4× Iranian NORP · 4× British NORP · 3× Luckett PERSON · 3× Manchester GPE · 3× Fairford GPE · 2× England GPE · 1×

Narrative

Britain has also seen a significant rise in antisemitism since the Hamas attacks on Israel in October 2023 that triggered the war in Gaza, including a series of attacks on Jewish sites in London earlier this year. “It is no secret that this country faces a range of serious threats from the Iranian regime,” British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said in a statement.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-04
2026-10-04 · The Sydney Morning Herald
Two Iranians appear in UK court over alleged plot to target Jews · assertive framing

Claims (16 extracted, 1 hedged)

Two Iranian nationals have appeared in a London court charged with plotting acts of terrorism involving the use of a homemade bomb to attack the Jewish community in northern England at the behest of a figure believed to be based in Iran. asserted
nationals → appear → Iran
Rahman Salehi, 34, and Salam Ahmadyan, 36, were arrested on September 20 at the start of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, when they are accused of carrying out hostile surveillance on potential Jewish targets in Manchester, prosecutors say. asserted
prosecutors → arrest → Manchester
These targets included the Manchester Jewish Museum and Heaton Park synagogue, the scene of a deadly attack almost a year ago in which two Jewish worshippers were killed, prosecutor Mark Luckett told Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Saturday (London time). asserted
Luckett → include → Saturday
“Both defendants are accused of preparing acts of terrorism targeting the Jewish community in Manchester through the use of a homemade explosive device,” Luckett said. asserted
Luckett → accuse → device
He said the men were accused of being in contact with a third party who is alleged to have directed and co-ordinated the attack planning and provided instructions on how to assemble a homemade bomb. asserted
who → say → bomb
“It’s assessed that this individual is also an Iranian national and most likely operating from within Iran,” Luckett said. asserted
Luckett → assess → Iran
The court was told both men had travelled to Britain from Europe in small boats. asserted
men → tell → boats
Salehi had arrived in 2020 and had been granted asylum, while Ahmadyan came in 2023 and his asylum claim was still outstanding, Luckett said. uncertain
Luckett → arrive → 2023
The men did not enter a plea and were remanded in custody until their next hearing at London’s Old Bailey court on October 23. asserted
men → enter → October
The case comes a week after Britain said Iran was believed to be involved in a suspected plot to target the RAF Fairford air base, which the US military has used to carry out raids against targets in Iran, leading to a dual British-Iranian national being arrested on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts. asserted
national → come → acts
Police said on Saturday that he had been released on police bail while the investigation continued. asserted
investigation → say → bail
British counterterrorism police have said the Manchester allegations were not connected to the Fairford investigation. asserted
allegations → say → investigation
Iran has rejected accusations of involvement in a number of plots in Britain in recent years, and said allegations it was connected to the Fairford incident were baseless. asserted
it → reject → incident
Britain has also seen a significant rise in antisemitism since the Hamas attacks on Israel in October 2023 that triggered the war in Gaza, including a series of attacks on Jewish sites in London earlier this year. “It is no secret that this country faces a range of serious threats from the Iranian regime,” British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said in a statement. asserted
Mahmood → see → statement
“They target our Jewish communities and try to silence their critics overseas, often through proxies and criminal networks to hide their involvement.” asserted
They → target → involvement
Reuters Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. asserted
what → get → world
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