‘Brutal stabbing’ of exiled Iranian journalist Pouria Zerati triggers UK counter-terrorism investigation

(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 on Friday that Geratie’s injuries were not considered life-threatening and he was in a stable condition.

Pouria Zerati, a television presenter for the 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 capture and “the fact that a number of threats have been made to this group of journalists in recent days”, the department’s counter-terrorism command said it Will do. Check what happened.

“We do not know the reason why this victim was attacked and there could be multiple explanations,” said Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the command. “While we continue to evaluate the circumstances of this incident, detectives are conducting a variety of investigations.” Have been.” , in a statement.

Although 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 unit”. Iranian state media have repeatedly accused the channel of inciting unrest.

Zerati’s stabbing comes after Britain’s ITV investigation last year revealed that Iranian spies had attempted to pay a human trafficker $200,000 to murder two Iran International journalists. The investigation led the British government in January to sanction seven members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the elite paramilitary organization established after the country’s 1979 revolution.

The chair of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Alicia Kearns, and the general secretary of the British National Union of Journalists, Michelle Stanistreet, issued carefully worded statements in which they avoided blaming Iran, but called for doing more to protect journalists. Called for.

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

“The international community needs to step up pressure on Iran and the United Nations must hold Iran accountable for its actions,” he said.

Kearns wrote on Twitter that Iran International had just returned from London after being closed in the UK.

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

CNN has contacted the Iranian Foreign Ministry for comment.

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