A former Iran International host was encouraged by British terrorism officials this week to leave her home for her own safety after a former colleague of hers survived an assassination attempt.
Iran International said that Pouria Zeraati, the host of its “Last Word” show, was stabbed by a group as he walked out of his home. He was rushed to the hospital with injuries, but is listed in “stable condition,” the report said.
The attack comes after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, has repeatedly threatened exiled Iranian dissidents for speaking out against the oppressive regime.
Sima Sabet, who used to work for BBC and had a show on Iran International, said following the attack that the Metropolitan Police’s Counter-Terrorism Unit “urged me to immediately leave my residence following a knife attack on @pouriazeraati, and stay elsewhere until further notice.”
She highlighted how the IRGC tried to pay a criminal $200,000 last year to assassinate her and another one of her colleagues at the network.
“Last year, the Revolutionary Guards attempted to assassinate me and my former colleague @FardadFarahzad,” she said. “They had detailed information about our residences and movements. A Western security service provided @itvnews with audio and video files in which a Quds Force commander ordered an individual to kill me and Farahzad with knife. Their plan to assassinate us was exposed and failed. Nonetheless, yesterday Pouria Zeraati was attacked with a knife in London.”
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“Though the Counter-Terrorism Police’s investigation is ongoing, and we are awaiting the outcome, this attack is a serious warning and an extremely troubling act for all journalists and opponents of the Islamic Republic in Britain and other Western countries,” she continued. “The Counter Terrorism Police have been in constant contact with me over the past few months, for which I am grateful. However, I must emphatically mention that the British government has not taken sufficient, meaningful, decisive, and effective political action against the terrorism of the Iranian government.”
She expressed anger at the British government for failing to protect her and other exiled Iranians who are now British citizens.
“London is our home,” she said. “Britain must be a safe place for journalists across all media, and unsafe for extremists and terrorists receiving orders from Tehran. Our voice will not be silenced by threat and terrorism. Journalism is not a crime; state terrorism is. Stop it.”
The Metropolitan Police's Counter-Terrorism Unit @metpoliceuk last night urged me to immediately leave my residence following a knife attack on @pouriazeraati , and stay elsewhere until further notice.
Last year, the Revolutionary Guards attempted to assassinate me and my… pic.twitter.com/3fFvFnqJs5
— Sima Sabet | سیما ثابت (@Sima_Sabet) March 30, 2024