An Iranian journalist working for a Persian-language news channel has been stabbed outside his London home, sparking an investigation led by counter-terrorism police.
Pouria Zeraati, a presenter for Iran International, was reportedly attacked by a group of men as he left home on Friday. He was taken to hospital and is in a stable condition, the channel said.
The Metropolitan police confirmed that officers were called to an address in Wimbledon, south London, at 2.49pm, and that a man in his 30s had sustained an injury to his leg. It said the man’s condition was “not believed to be life-threatening” and that an investigation had been opened. No arrests have yet been made.
Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s counter-terrorism command, said: “While we are keeping an open mind, given the occupation of the victim and our publicised concerns about the threat to employees of that organisation, the investigation is being led by the counter-terrorism command.
“I must stress that, at this early stage of our investigation, we do not know the reason why this victim was attacked and there could be a number of explanations for this.”
Established in 2017, Iran International broadcasts from London but is aimed primarily at Iranian viewers and, according to independent surveys, is the most widely watched news channel in Iran.
The motive for the attack remains unclear, but topics covered by the channel in the past include human rights violations in Iran. In February last year, the channel temporarily relocated its operations to Washington DC because of threats to its journalists, and returned to London in September.
Responding to the stabbing, Michelle Stanistreet, the general secretary of the National Union of Journalists, said it was a “shocking” and “cowardly attack”.
Alicia Kearns, chair of the foreign affairs select committee, said: “This is deeply upsetting. Whilst we don’t know the circumstances of this attack, Iran continues to hunt down those brave enough to speak out against the regime. Yet I remain unconvinced that we and our allies have clear strategies to protect people in our countries from them, and protect our interests abroad.”
Anyone with any information that they believe could help the police investigation is asked to call 101 and quote reference CAD 3834/29 Mar.
