Two Romanian men have been sentenced to prison for their roles in the stabbing of Pouria Zeraati, a journalist for the Persian-language television station Iran International. A judge in London ruled that the attack, which occurred in March 2024, was carried out on behalf of the Iranian state.
Nandito Badea, 21, and George Stana, 25, were found guilty by a jury of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. Judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb stated that the evidence overwhelmingly indicated the attack was orchestrated for and benefited a foreign power. Stana received a 12-year sentence, while Badea was sentenced to eight years.
Zeraati was stabbed in the leg outside his home in the Wimbledon area of London. Prosecutors noted that a billboard depicting Zeraati's face with a "Wanted: Dead or Alive" message had been displayed in Tehran. Iran International has faced escalating threats due to its critical coverage of Iran's government, leading the broadcaster to temporarily relocate its operations to Washington, D.C., in 2023 before resuming in a new London location.
According to police, Badea, a former professional soccer player, attacked Zeraati alongside another individual before fleeing in a car driven by Stana. The pair subsequently departed the U.K. from Heathrow Airport. They were arrested in Romania in December 2024 and extradited to the U.K. A third suspect, David Andrei, is facing criminal proceedings in Romania.
Despite the conviction, Iran's senior diplomat in the U.K. has denied Tehran's involvement in the incident. Zeraati, who has recovered from his injuries and returned to work, stated in a victim impact statement that the attack left him feeling "scared and anxious" and necessitated his relocation abroad due to fear of reprisals.
U.K. security officials have expressed concern over an increase in Iranian-backed plots on British soil, often utilizing criminal proxies to target opposition media and the Jewish community. Ken McCallum, head of Britain’s MI5 domestic intelligence service, reported in October that over 20 potentially lethal Iran-backed plots had been disrupted in the preceding 12 months. Separately, an Iranian proxy group has claimed responsibility for a series of suspected antisemitic attacks in the U.K.