Pouria Zeraati, an Iran International journalist who was stabbed outside his London home last week, has vowed he will be back on air soon.
Following the attack on Friday, Zeraati is now at a safe house while the incident is investigated by Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism officers.
Zeraati said through a friend that he would carry on his work regardless of who was behind the attack.
The journalist has been advised not to give any interviews but gave permission for his friend Kasra Aarabi to speak to the BBC on his behalf.
Mr Aarabi said his friend is recovering and in a positive frame of mind.
“Pouria has told me, regardless of who is behind this, he won't be silenced, he'll carry on,” he said.
He added that the 36-year-old journalist told him that he had sensed that something was about to happen right before the attack when he saw two people on his quiet street in Wimbledon, south-west London.
“Pouria crossed the road to get to his car, he noticed one man approaching, so he backed off,” Mr Aarabi said.
He said the man asked Zeraati in English: “Brother, can I have £3?”
Zeraati replied in the negative and turned back to his car to open the door.
He said the man then signalled to a second person, who ran towards the TV host with his face covered and grabbed him in a bear hug, pinning his arms.
“Pouria told me he couldn't move, he had lost all control,” Mr Aarabi said.
“At which point the first person, who asked for money, stabs him several times in the back of the thigh.”
Mr Aarabi said the attack was over quickly with the assailants running down the road to a parked car.
Zeraati has said on social media that the attack was “purposefully planned”.
“Nothing was stolen from Pouria, his phone, he had brand new Apple AirPods, his wallet with cash in it and a valuable watch – they weren't interested in taking anything of value,” Mr Aarabi added.
“It could be a local gang who have been paid to do this – we know the Iranian regime has been accused of this before. The regime may have also flown in its operatives.
“The other option is that these are local home-grown attackers radicalised and recruited by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards [IRGC] in the UK, which is a terrifying but real prospect.”
The Metropolitan Police said that while the motivation for the attack was not yet clear, Zeraati's occupation coupled with recent threats to Iranian journalists in the UK meant the investigation was being led by counter-terrorism officers.
Suspects flee country
The force said three people are suspected of carrying out the attack. A vehicle believed to be linked to the incident has been recovered.
“We have identified three suspects who we believe left the UK within hours of the attack,” said Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s counter-terrorism command.
“Detectives trawled CCTV and made extensive inquiries resulting in the identification and recovery of a vehicle used by the suspects to leave the scene.
“We have established that after abandoning the vehicle, the suspects travelled to Heathrow Airport and have left the UK. We are now working with international partners to establish further details.
“We do not know the reason why this victim was attacked and there could be a number of explanations for this. I appreciate the concern this incident has caused, for local people and all those impacted.
“Additional patrols are continuing in the Wimbledon area and at other locations in London.”
Iran International spokesman Adam Baillie said the broadcaster and its journalists have been targeted by the IRGC.
The channel in London aims to provide independent coverage of Iran, which has declared the outlet to be a terrorist organisation.
Iran’s chargé d’affaires in the UK, Mehdi Hosseini Matin, said “we deny any link” to the stabbing attack.
Asked about who was behind the attack, Mr Baillie told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme “the fact that counter-terrorism is leading the investigation probably speaks for itself”.
“Along with our colleagues at BBC Persian, Iran International has been under threat, very heavy threats, for the last 18 months since the IRGC said, ‘We’re coming for you’, which they have consistently repeated,” he added.
He said the IRGC “gets in touch through proxies, they don’t leave a paper trail”.
“No one’s going to call up from the IRGC and go, ‘Hey, it’s us’, but families have been taken in for questioning and threatened,” Mr Baillie said.
“The scale of that has increased dramatically over the last few months, and the scale and the type of questioning is more aggressive, ‘tell your relatives to stop working for this channel’ and so on.”
In January, the British Foreign Office imposed sanctions on members of the IRGC’s Unit 840 after an ITV investigation into a plot to assassinate two of Iran International’s presenters in the UK.
Officials said the plot was the latest credible example of Iran’s attempts to kill or intimidate people on UK soil, with at least 15 such threats reported since January 2022.
In December, an IT worker was jailed for three and a half years for spying on Iran International before a “planned attack” on British soil.
After a trial at the Old Bailey, the Chechnya-born Austrian citizen was found guilty of trying to collect information for terrorist purposes.
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
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A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Meydan race card
6.30pm: Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh125,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,200m
7.40pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh170,000 (D) 1,900m
8.50pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 (D)1,200m
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Primera Liga fixtures (all times UAE: 4 GMT)
Friday
Real Sociedad v Villarreal (10.15pm)
Real Betis v Celta Vigo (midnight)
Saturday
Alaves v Barcelona (8.15pm)
Levante v Deportivo La Coruna (10.15pm)
Girona v Malaga (10.15pm)
Las Palmas v Atletico Madrid (12.15am)
Sunday
Espanyol v Leganes (8.15pm)
Eibar v Athletic Bilbao (8.15pm)
Getafe v Sevilla (10.15pm)
Real Madrid v Valencia (10.15pm)
'THE WORST THING YOU CAN EAT'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Hili 2: Unesco World Heritage site
The site is part of the Hili archaeological park in Al Ain. Excavations there have proved the existence of the earliest known agricultural communities in modern-day UAE. Some date to the Bronze Age but Hili 2 is an Iron Age site. The Iron Age witnessed the development of the falaj, a network of channels that funnelled water from natural springs in the area. Wells allowed settlements to be established, but falaj meant they could grow and thrive. Unesco, the UN's cultural body, awarded Al Ain's sites - including Hili 2 - world heritage status in 2011. Now the most recent dig at the site has revealed even more about the skilled people that lived and worked there.
HEADLINE HERE
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Honeymoonish
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Tips to avoid getting scammed
1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday
2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment
3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone
4) Try not to close the sale at night
5) Don't be rushed into a sale
6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour
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Federer's 11 Wimbledon finals
2003 Beat Mark Philippoussis
2004 Beat Andy Roddick
2005 Beat Andy Roddick
2006 Beat Rafael Nadal
2007 Beat Rafael Nadal
2008 Lost to Rafael Nadal
2009 Beat Andy Roddick
2012 Beat Andy Murray
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How it works
Booklava works on a subscription model. On signing up you receive a free book as part of a 30-day-trial period, after which you pay US$9.99 (Dh36.70) per month to gain access to a library of books and discounts of up to 30 per cent on selected titles. You can cancel your subscription at any time. For more details go to www.booklava.com
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Fixtures
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWednesday%2C%20April%203%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EArsenal%20v%20Luton%20Town%2C%2010.30pm%20(UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EManchester%20City%20v%20Aston%20Villa%2C%2011.15pm%20(UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EThursday%2C%20April%204%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ELiverpool%20v%20Sheffield%20United%2C%2010.30pm%20(UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
