Suspects Linked to Stabbing of Iranian TV Presenter Have Left UK, Say Police

Undated photo showing the New Scotland Yard sign outside the Metropolitan Police headquarters in London. Kirsty O’Connor/PA Media

Three suspects investigated in relation to a stabbing of Iran International TV presenter in London have left the country, the police have reported.

Iranian TV host Pouria Zeraati was stabbed outside of his home in Wimbledon, south London on March 29.

The Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command officers have been appointed to investigate the incident because the victim is a journalist at Iran International.

The UK-based Persian-language TV station has been branded a terrorist organisation by the regime in Tehran after it covered massive protests in several Iranian cities in September 2022 following the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, who was detained by the morality police for not wearing a veil.

Its staff members have been receiving threats, the Met has confirmed.

The motive of the three attackers in Wimbledon “at this stage remains unclear” and officers are “keeping an open mind.”

“I must reiterate that we are still at an 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. All lines of enquiry are being pursued and we are keeping an open mind on any potential motivation for the attack,” said Commander Dominic Murphy, Head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command.

The investigation has confirmed that after the incident, two suspects fled the scene in a blue Mazda 3, driven by the third suspect.

Officers have located the car and are examining it for forensic evidence, while continuing searches in the Wimbledon area and other London locations.

“Detectives trawled CCTV and made extensive enquiries resulting in the identification and recovery of a vehicle used by the suspects to leave the scene. We have established that after abandoning the vehicle, the suspects travelled to Heathrow Airport and have left the UK. We are now working with international partners to establish further details,” Mr. Murphy said.

“Hugely Frightening”

Since sustaining an injury to his leg, Mr. Zeraati has been discharged from hospital. On Monday he posted a message on social media platform X, with an update on his condition.

“Firstly I want to thank you for all your calls, messages and support; I am really sorry that I am not able to respond to all of them. The amount of your sympathy, kindness and love in past few days has been and is the greatest and best energy for my recovery process,” the journalist wrote.

He confirmed he is feeling better and recovering. Mr. Zeraati and his wife are residing “at a safe place under the supervision of the Met Police,” the post said.

Iran International spokesman Adam Baillie has called the incident “hugely frightening” and said that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has been targeting journalists and their families,

Asked what he believed lay behind the attack, Mr. Baillie told BBC Radio 4’s “Today” programme: “We can’t say. The fact that counter-terrorism is leading the investigation probably speaks for itself.

“Along with our colleagues at BBC Persian, Iran International has been under threat, very heavy threats, for the last 18 months since the IRGC said ‘we’re coming for you,’ which they have consistently repeated.”

In January, the Foreign Office announced sanctions against members of the IRGC’s Unit 840 following an ITV investigation into plots to assassinate two of Iran International’s presenters in the UK.

In a separate case, a 31-year-old Chechnya-born Magomed-Husejn Dovtaev was found guilty in December 2023 of spying on Iran International. The court heard he attempted to collect information for terrorist purposes.

The prosecution said that Dovtaev’s case was the latest in a series of suspicious visits by “others unknown” to identify security chinks that could be exploited for an attack.

Last year, Iran International announced its move from London to the United States due to the growing threat from the Iranian regime and security advice from British police.