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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - British authorities on Friday charged two Iranian nationals over their alleged involvement in a “plot” targeting the Jewish community in the Manchester area, the Metropolitan Police said.
Salam Ahmadyan, 36, of Liverpool, and Rahman Salehi, 34, of Salford, were charged with “engaging in conduct in preparation for terrorist acts, contrary to Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006,” the Metropolitan Police said in a statement late Friday.
“It is alleged that the two men were in contact with an overseas third-party who may be in Iran in relation to the plot.”
The two men were initially arrested on September 20.
The charges come amid heightened scrutiny of alleged Iranian-linked activity in Britain following a separate investigation into suspicious activity near RAF Fairford, a military airbase used by the US Air Force.
Five British nationals, aged between 23 and 25, were arrested early on September 27 in Whelford, near the Gloucestershire airbase, after police received reports of three suspicious vehicles travelling towards RAF Fairford.
The five men were detained on suspicion of explosives offences and preparing a terrorist act. They were later released on bail as the investigation continued.
On Thursday, Counter Terrorism Policing announced a further arrest in connection with the investigation into activity near RAF Fairford. A 25-year-old dual UK-Iranian national was arrested in the Borough of Westminster, London, on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts.
A day before the arrest of the dual UK-Iranian national, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said there were “strong indications” that Iran had played a role in the suspected security incident near RAF Fairford.
“There are strong indications that Iran played a part in what happened over the weekend at RAF Fairford,” Burnham told the BBC on Wednesday, while stressing that the case remained an “ongoing, complex, and serious police investigation.”
Tehran rejected the allegation, while British police continued to investigate possible foreign-state involvement.
RAF Fairford is a British military airbase used by the US Air Force and has hosted American bombers during military operations against Iran. Britain authorized the United States to use the base for strikes on Iranian missile sites during the conflict.
The incident came after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned in July that any British base used to launch attacks against Iranian territory would be considered a “legitimate target.”
The warning specifically followed the use of RAF Fairford by US bombers.
A day after the five men were arrested, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the incident “clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor,” without naming a country.
