Iran Is Using Foreign Criminals to Attack Its Critics Overseas
Pouria Zeraati, a dissident who was living in London, was stabbed by a group of Romanian thugs. His case is part of a widening campaign by the Iranian regime to silence its detractors.
Iranian journalist Zeraati, thirty-eight at the time, had moved to England in 2007 to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering. Upon graduation, he began working for Manoto, a London-based Persian-language television channel that was highly popular in Iran. Zeraati's reporting gained significant attention with the launch of his Friday-night show, "The Last Word," on Iran International, a satellite channel that offered critical coverage of the regime.
The channel, funded by Saudi-British investors, was banned within Iran, leading to suspicions that it was part of a media scheme to support opposition groups.
Zeraati's broadcasts featured discussions with anti-regime activists and Israeli officials, and highlighted numerous demonstrations, including women burning their hijabs and protesters shouting "Death to the mullahs' regime!" The Iranian government viewed Iran International's reporting as a threat, accusing the channel of being a "terrorist organization." In response, Fars News Agency, linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, issued a wanted poster featuring Zeraati and four other anchors.
Following a series of threats against Zeraati and his family, including a masked attack in March 2024, Romanian nationals George Stana, his twenty-two-year-old associate, and three accomplices traveled to England. They carried out an assault on Zeraati outside his home, inflicting severe injuries. Stana and his team then fled to Geneva and later to Bucharest. The Iranian regime has since maintained a heightened state of vigilance against perceived threats from foreign criminals and political dissenters.
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