Two Iranians charged over planned attack on Jewish community in Manchester

Two Iranians were charged Friday on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act against the Jewish community in Manchester, in the northwest of England, British police announced. These two men, aged 34 and 36, arrested in Manchester on September 20, were “in contact with a third party based abroad, who could be in Iran, as part of this alleged project,” the police wrote in a press release.

These charges come almost a year after the deadly stabbing and shooting attack on the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in north Manchester, where worshipers gathered for Yom Kippur, Judaism's most important holiday. Two people lost their lives during this attack, which occurred on October 2, 2025.

Vicki Evans, senior national coordinator of the anti-terrorism police, declared in mid-September that a long-term investigation had made it possible to foil this “planned attack” targeting the Jewish community in the Manchester region.

Yom Kippur was celebrated this year from Sunday evening September 20 to Monday evening September 21. “We are fully aware that this news will cause serious concern within the Jewish community, as well as among people in general, especially during this period of the solemn holidays of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur,” she added.

The charity Community Security Trust, which provides security advice to Jewish groups, called the alleged plot and its timing “deeply chilling”. The past year has been marked by a wave of attacks in the British capital, targeting Jewish places or places linked to Israel.