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Trial date set for two Iranians accused of plotting Manchester synagogue bomb attack
Two men deny planning a terrorist attack on Jewish sites, including the synagogue where two worshippers were killed last year
Two Iranian men accused of plotting to bomb Jewish sites in Manchester will stand trial next June, a court has heard.
Salam Ahmadyan, 36, of Liverpool, and Rahman Salehi, 34, of Salford, allegedly planned to target Heaton Park Hebrew Synagogue and Manchester Jewish Museum using a homemade chlorine bomb.
The synagogue was the scene of a deadly terror attack on Yom Kippur last October, in which two Jewish worshippers were killed.
According to the BBC, the pair appeared at the Old Bailey by video link, where a trial date was set for 15 June 2027 at Manchester Crown Court.
Prosecutors allege the men were in contact with another Iranian national, believed to be operating from Iran, who helped direct and organise the planned attack.
They are accused of obtaining instructions to make a chlorine bomb, gathering chemicals and equipment, and researching possible targets online.
The pair also allegedly collected photographs, maps and plans of potential targets and carried out surveillance at Jewish sites.
Both men, who entered Britain illegally by boat, deny engaging in conduct in preparation for terrorist acts on or before 20 September.
The allegations come just over a year after the attack on Heaton Park Hebrew Synagogue on 2 October 2025.
Melvin Cravitz, 66, and Adrian Daulby, 53, were killed when Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, drove into the synagogue gates before launching a knife attack while wearing a fake suicide belt.
The trial is expected to last five weeks, with a further hearing scheduled for 16 April 2027.
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