Iranian journalist stabbed in London discharged and ‘residing at safe place’

The Iranian International TV presenter who was stabbed outside his home in west London last week has said he has left hospital and is staying in a safe place.

Pouria Zeraati, 36, said he was on the mend after his traumatic ordeal on Friday afternoon and thanked people for the kind messages and “love” they had sent him during his stay in hospital.

“Fortunately, I am feeling better, recovering, and I have been discharged from the hospital,” he posted on X. “My wife and I are residing at a safe place under the supervision of the Met police.”

Adam Baillie, lead media liaison for Iran International, said: “It was a shocking, shocking incident, whatever the outcome of an investigation reveals. But for him as a leading presenter, as with our other presenters and journalists, yes, it is a great shock.” He added that the attack on Zeraati was the first of its kind.

Iran International is the most popular news channel in Iran, according to independent surveys, in spite of being banned in the country by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has labelled the organisation as a “terrorist” channel, Baillie said.

Iran International returned to its London broadcasting studios only last September, after taking up a temporary sanctuary in Washington DC in February 2023 over a “significant escalation in state-backed threats from Iran”.

Counter-terrorism officers are investigating the attack on Zeraati, and Tehran has denied any involvement. Mehdi Hosseini Matin, Iran’s charge d’affaires in the UK, said: “We deny any link.”

The Metropolitan police said they were unable to elaborate on any motive behind the attacks and no arrests had been made.

Cdr Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s counter-terrorism command, said: “I appreciate the concern this incident has caused, for local people as well as for those in similar lines of work and from Iranian communities.”