Iranian journalist describes London stabbing by 'men working for Iran'

An Iranian journalist based in London has described how he was stabbed in the thigh in a "violent" and "very frightening" attack outside his London home by men accused of working for Iran. Pouria Zeraati - a journalist and presenter at Iran International, a Persian language TV channel which is not supportive of the Iranian government - told a court he used a builder's utility belt to stop the bleeding. Two Romanian men are on trial at Woolwich Crown Court accused of the knife attack on 29 March 2024. George Stana, 25 and Nandito Badea, 21 have both denied charges of wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm, and unlawful wounding. The prosecution allege Stana and Badea flew in from Romania to carry out the attack as paid proxies working for the Iranian state. Giving evidence on Tuesday, Zeraati described going to his car which was parked near his home in Wimbledon when a man approached him to ask for "£3 change". He told the court that he was then "grabbed very firmly by a second person" in a way which meant he could not move his arms. Then, Zeraati said, "the first person took out a knife from his pocket". "After that, the only thing I was focused on was the knife." "He star