British police on Friday charged two Iranian men with preparing terrorist acts against the Jewish community in Manchester on the eve of Yom Kippur, a year to the day after a deadly attack on a synagogue in the city.

Rahman Salehi, 34, of Salford, and Salam Ahmadyan, 36, of Liverpool, were arrested on Sept. 20, hours before the start of the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. The Crown Prosecution Service said both were charged with “engaging in conduct in preparation for terrorist acts” on or before that date. They are due at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Saturday.

The two men had components for making an improvised explosive device and had carried out reconnaissance on potential targets, according to a police statement. They had also allegedly been in touch with “an overseas third-party who may be in Iran in relation to the plot,” the Metropolitan Police said.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans, the senior national coordinator for Counter Terror Policing, said the charges grew out of a joint investigation with the security services. The investigation disrupted what is believed to have been a plot aimed at the Jewish community, she said, but “we do not believe there to be any ongoing threat to the public in relation to this matter.”

Home Minister Shabana Mahmood said the news would be “deeply distressing for our Jewish communities, coming so soon after Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur,” and especially so in Manchester on the anniversary of the Heaton Park attack. She said in her statement that “both suspects” had “arrived by small boat several years ago,” calling it a “reminder of the importance of our relentless work to tackle illegal migration into this country.”

Two people were killed in the Oct. 2, 2025, assault on the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue, where worshipers had gathered for Yom Kippur. Accounts of that attack differ: CNN described a car ramming and stabbing outside the synagogue, while CBS News reported a knife and gun attack.

The charges land at the end of a week in which the government has pointed repeatedly at Tehran. Five British nationals, all men from London in their early to mid-20s, were arrested on Sept. 27 after three suspicious vehicles moved toward RAF Fairford, an airbase about 90 minutes west of London used by American bombers for strikes on Iran. The five were released on bail, and on Thursday police arrested a 25-year-old dual British-Iranian national in Westminster in connection with that incident.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Wednesday there were “strong indications” Iran was involved in the Fairford episode. Iran’s government has denied any role. Officials say the airbase case and the Manchester plot are not connected.

“This week also brought into sharp focus some of the wider threats being projected into the UK from Iran,” Ms. Evans said. “While this incident and the investigation into the RAF Fairford incident are not connected in any way, I want to reassure the public that CTP, working with our national security partners, are using the full range of our capabilities to protect the UK from any hostile acts.”

Britain has had a run of antisemitic attacks this year, including assaults on synagogues and communal buildings, and the government has put extra police into Jewish areas. Deputy Chief Constable Terry Woods of Greater Manchester Police said “ongoing and robust” policing plans across Jewish communities would stay in place. “We know how concerning this news will be to Jewish communities in Greater Manchester, and beyond,” he said.

Mr. Salehi and Mr. Ahmadyan are scheduled to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Saturday.