Stabbed Iranian journalist ‘was attacked by Eastern European mercenaries’

Three men who attacked an Iranian journalist outside his London home were mercenaries from Eastern Europe hired by Tehran, investigators believe.

Pouria Zeraati, a dissident who works for the London-based Iran International network, was ambushed and stabbed several times as he left for work last month.

The broadcaster, who had previously been subjected to death threats, believes the attack was carried out on the orders of the regime in Tehran.

But counter-terrorism officers leading the investigation believe the men who carried out the attack were proxies who had been recruited from the criminal underworld in Eastern Europe.

The men arrived in Britain a short time before the incident and then left almost immediately afterwards, flying to three different destinations from London’s Heathrow Airport.

Detectives are understood to be investigating if one of the men had links to Albania.

It is not the first time rogue states have used organised crime groups to carry out their activities in the West.

In December, a Chechen-born Austrian national was jailed after he was caught carrying out hostile reconnaissance on the London headquarters of Iran International.

Magomed-Husejn Dovtaev was convicted of trying to collect information likely to be useful for terrorism and jailed for three and a half years.

Intelligence agencies have also uncovered plots involving criminal proxies from Eastern Europe to assassinate Iranian dissidents in Europe.

Mr Zeraati was attacked on 29 March as he left his home in Wimbledon to head to the studios to broadcast his weekly show.

He was initially approached by one man who asked him for money, before a second approached him and held him. The first then slashed him across the legs.

A third suspect was waiting in a getaway car, which was later found abandoned.

Scotland Yard later confirmed that the three men had left the UK, flying out of Heathrow Airport on the same day.

Iran’s charge d’affaires in the UK, Seyed Mehdi Hosseini Matin, has denied his government’s involvement.

Assistant Commissioner Matt Jukes, the head of UK counter-terrorism, has previously spoken of the use of criminal proxies by Iran and other rogue states.

At a briefing in January, he said: “The big connecting factor is of course money, but also the use of criminal proxies to carry out the work of hostile regimes.

“Why would you do it yourself when you can procure an organised criminal to take the action on your behalf to provide distance and deniability.”