An Iranian journalist has been brutally stabbed outside his home in London. The Metropolitan Police rushed to the scene and are currently investigating the incident.
Broadcast journalist Pouria Zeraati, 36, sustained several knife injuries but is reportedly in a stable condition.
Mr Zeraati works for Iran International, a television broadcaster that has been declared a terrorist organisation by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Iran International reported on the stabbing, saying that the TV host was “attacked by several unidentified men upon leaving his home in London on Friday”.
They added that the motive was “unclear” but pointed out that “the Iranian regime in recent past had tried to harm Iran International and its journalists for their coverage of Iran, and the platform it provides to critics and human rights activists”.
Mr Zeraati has regularly criticised the current regime in Iran, and sparked controversy last year after interviewing Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu – a sworn enemy of the Islamic Republic.
Former US State Department advisor on Iran Gabriel Noronha posted on X: “It was only a matter of time before Iranian assassins and thugs actually hit one of their targets in the U.S. or UK. Wishing @pouriazeraati a speedy recovery and hoping that the UK government starts getting serious about the regime’s threats. Sanction the IRGC for starters…”
In November 2022, the regime in Tehran plotted to kill two Iran International TV anchors – Sima Sabet and Fardad Farahzad. This prompted the Metropolitan Police to provide protection around Iran International’s offices.
A later investigation revealed that the assassination plot was signed off by Mohammad Reza Ansari, the IRGC commander in charge of assassinations outside Iran.
The Islamic Republic of Iran deemed the channel a terrorist organisation during the Mahsa Amini protests in November 2022 and was charged with inciting riots against the government. Iran also accused the broadcaster of being an arm of Saudi Arabia.
The Persian-language news television channel had to briefly leave its London HQ and move to Washington DC for several months in 2023 due to security threats against its British-based journalists
Anchors have spoken out that the Iranian government is waging an “intimidation campaign” against the TV station, freezing staff assets, interrogating their relatives, and “threatening to snatch them from British streets if they do not quit their jobs”.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1883128/iran-journalist-pouria-zeraati-stabbed-breaking
