‘Brutal stabbing’ of exiled Iranian journalist Pouria Zerati prompts UK counter-terrorism probe

(CNN) — A prominent exiled Iranian journalist was stabbed outside his London home on Friday, prompting British police to launch a counter-terrorism investigation. London’s Metropolitan Police (Met) said in a statement released on Friday that Zerati’s injuries are not believed to be life-threatening and he is in a stable condition.

Poriya Zerati, a television presenter for UK-based Iranian channel Iran International, was allegedly attacked by a group of men outside her home south-west of Wimbledon. The attackers fled in a vehicle.

The Met said it was too early to determine a motive for the crime, but given the victim’s occupation and “the fact that this group of journalists has received several threats in recent times”, the department’s counter-terrorism command was investigating what happened.

Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the command, said: “We do not know why this victim was attacked and there could be a number of explanations. While we continue to assess the circumstances of this incident, detectives are following a number of lines of inquiry. is,” said Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the command. , in a statement.

While Tehran was not involved in the attack, the incident has already raised concerns. Iran has designated the television station where Zerati works as a “terrorist entity”. Iran’s state media has repeatedly accused the channel of fomenting unrest.

Zerati’s stabbing comes after an investigation by Britain’s ITV last year that Iranian spies tried to pay a human trafficker $200,000 to kill two international journalists from Iran. The investigation led the British government to release seven members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the elite paramilitary organization established after the country’s 1979 revolution, in January.

Alicia Cairns, chair of parliament’s foreign affairs committee, and Michelle Stanisstreet, general secretary of the British National Union of Journalists, issued cautiously worded statements in which they refrained from blaming Iran but called for more action to protect journalists.

“This brutal stabbing will inevitably raise fears among the many journalists attacked at Iran International and the BBC Persian Service that they do not feel safe at home or at work,” Stanistreet said.

“The international community needs to increase pressure on Iran and the UN must hold Iran accountable for its actions,” he added.

Kearns noted on Twitter that Iran International had returned to air from London after being discontinued in the UK.

“This is very disturbing,” he said in X. “While we do not know the circumstances of this attack, Iran continues to persecute those brave enough to speak out against the regime.”

CNN has reached out to Iran’s foreign ministry for comment.

CNN’s Mustafa Salem and Hande Atay Alam contributed to this report.