Two Romanian men have been found guilty of stabbing Iran International journalist Pouria Zeraati.
Mr Zeraati was left bleeding in the street after he was attacked on the orders of the Iranian regime outside his home in Wimbledon, south-west London, in March 2024, a UK court was told.
On Friday, jurors found Nandito Badea, 21, and George Stana, 25, both guilty of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. Both men are to be sentenced at the Old Bailey on July 3.
Mr Zeraati is the high-profile face of Iran International, a London-based channel that is aligned with opposition to the regime. Tehran has designated it as a terrorist organisation.
He had appeared, along with other journalists, on posters that read “Wanted: dead or alive”, which were put up in the Iranian capital Tehran, the trial was told.
Due to the political nature of the attack, coupled with the continuing threats emanating from Iran towards the media organisation, the investigation was immediately taken on by counter terrorism police.
Speaking after the pair were convicted, Chief Superintendent Kris Wright said: “This was a targeted and violent attack and it was the prosecution’s case during the trial that it was carried out on behalf of the Iranian regime.”
Mr Wright, the head of Protective Security Operations for Counter-Terrorism Policing London, added that the “suspects immediately left the UK thinking they would be safe” but were arrested in Romania and extradited to Britain.
Mr Zeraati was stabbed three times in the thigh in what prosecutors described as “a planned attack preceded by reconnaissance, and which was ordered by a third party acting on behalf of the Iranian state”.
Badea wielded the knife while another man called David Andrei, who is still in Romania and was not on trial, was also part of the attack, according to the victim.
The attackers were seen laughing as they fled in a blue Mazda 3 getaway car driven by Stana. The three left the UK on a flight to Geneva.
The Met Police said that “hostile reconnaissance” was first carried out by Stana in March 2023, a year before the attack.
Stana and another man were stopped near Mr Zeraati’s home after a neighbour called police over concerns about two men acting suspiciously in a communal garden. But it was only until the investigation began that police realised the significance of that encounter.
The trio travelled into the UK from Romania in January and February 2024, before carrying out the attack.
Badea claimed Andrei had told him to approach Mr Zeraati and ask for money but he then came up from behind and stabbed the journalist.
Iran International was based in Chiswick until February 2023, when threats made against the network, its employees and their families led to it relocating temporarily to Washington DC.
The Met Police says it continues to work closely with various Persian-language media groups, as well as individuals and other organisations based in the UK.
Officers provide them with appropriate safety and security advice and support in relation to threats projected into the UK from Iran.
