The Iranian journalist attacked in London on Friday had incurred “wrath” for conducting an interview with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, according to a news website run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Iran.
Pouria Zeraati, who hosts a show on the anti-Iranian regime television network Iran International, was hospitalised with multiple stab wounds after two people assaulted him as he left his home in Wimbledon on Friday afternoon.
The motivation for the attack was not immediately clear but UK counter-terrorism police have already foiled 15 plots linked to Iran, including against journalists critical of the regime in Tehran.
Fars News Agency, run by the IRGC, printed a story on Saturday highlighting Mr Zeraati’s recent interview with Mr Netanyahu, whose government is at war with Hamas in Gaza.
“While even the Zionists are expressing their hatred of Netanyahu, the terrorist Iran International channel has offered its antenna to the prime minister, murderer of children in Gaza,” the Fars report said.
“This has incurred the wrath of internet users.”
Fars also shared a social media user’s tweet in reaction to the interview, saying: “After the massacre of Palestinians in the occupied Palestine, it is a sheer disgraceful act for Iran International and its vile presenter to conduct an interview with Netanyahu.”
‘First attack of its kind’
Mr Zeraati, who hosts the Last Word show on the Persian-language network, was heading to work in west London at around 3.15pm when he was approached by a man outside his house who tried to engage him in conversation.
Another man then came up behind him and began stabbing him with a knife. The attackers escaped in a car parked nearby where a driver was waiting for them, The Telegraph understands.
Mr Zeraati is currently in a stable condition, a spokesman for Iran International said.
Sarat News, an Iranian news website affiliated with the Islamic republic regime’s hardliners, has sought to sow doubts by implying Mr Zeraati may be dead.
“He’s doing very well actually. He’s in hospital recovering from the attack,” Adam Baillie told BBC Radio 4’s Today.
“It was a shocking, shocking incident, whatever the outcome of an investigation reveals. It’s the first attack of its kind.”
Asked what he believed lay behind the attack, Mr Baillie said: “We can’t say. The fact that counter-terrorism is leading the investigation probably speaks for itself.
Wake-up call for the West
“Along with our colleagues at BBC Persian, Iran International has been under very heavy threats for the last 18 months since the IRGC said ‘we’re coming for you’, which they have consistently repeated.”
He said the IRGC “get in touch through proxies, they don’t leave a paper trail”.
“No one’s going to call up from the IRGC and go ‘hey, it’s us’, but families have been taken in for questioning and threatened.”
He added: “The scale of that has increased dramatically over the last few months. And the scale and the type of questioning is more aggressive, ‘tell your relatives to stop working for this channel’ and so on.”
The attack has been described as a “wake-up call” for the West.
“Iran is actively trying to kill reporters and activists in the West and nearly succeeded in the middle of London. Next time we may not be so lucky”, said Karim Sadjadpour, of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in the US.
William Turner is a seasoned U.K. correspondent with a deep understanding of domestic affairs. With a passion for British politics and culture, he provides insightful analysis and comprehensive coverage of events within the United Kingdom.
