British prosecutors said on Monday that a team of Romanian men who carried out a 2024 knife attack on Iran International TV presenter Pouria Zeraati in London were acting as proxies for Iran.
Zeraati was stabbed three times in the leg near his home in Wimbledon, southwest London, in late March 2024. He was discharged from the hospital two days later.
Nandito Badea, 21, and George Stana, 25, were arrested in Romania in connection with the attack, and were extradited to Britain on December 17, 2024. They were later charged with allegedly “wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm", a charge they denied at a preliminary hearing in London last year.
On Monday, prosecutor Duncan Atkinson told Woolwich Crown Court that “this was no robbery, no fight that got out of control, it was deliberate, planned violence to achieve what it did, that is serious injury to its target."
They had "committed a planned attack preceded by reconnaissance, and which was ordered by a third party acting on behalf of the Iranian state," he added.
Iran has denied any involvement in the incident.
Atkinson said Zeraati was an “obvious and readily identifiable target for violence” by proxies acting for Iran.
He said posters had been put up in Tehran in November 2022 featuring pictures of journalists including Zeraati under the heading “Wanted: dead or alive.”
Use of criminal gangs
“In recent years, since 2005, the Islamic Republic has turned less to its own operatives and increasingly to use proxies such as criminal gangs to meet their threatened violence on their behalf,” Atkinson said.
“That has included attacks on persons in this country who have become targets of Iranian intimidation and, effectively, terror,” he added.
Atkinson said Zeraati had been subjected to “extensive reconnaissance.”
He said Stana had been arrested a year earlier in the garden of Zeraati’s apartment with another man while in possession of latex gloves, scissors and a mask.
On the day of the attack, Badea and Andrei confronted Zeraati as he crossed the street from his home to his car, Atkinson said. Andrei held him while Badea stabbed him at the top of his thigh before they fled to a getaway car driven by Stana, the prosecutor added.
The men, who were motivated by money, dumped the car and some clothing before taking a taxi to Heathrow Airport and flying to Geneva, Atkinson said.
A third man accused of involvement, David Andrei, was arrested in Romania but is not involved in the trial.
The trial which began on Monday is expected to last more than two weeks.
In a separate incident last month, three defendants were charged over an alleged arson incident near Iran International’s studios in northwest London, with their trial scheduled to begin on January 25, 2027, at the Central Criminal Court.
In a statement, Iran International said the attack highlights increasing pressure on its journalists and their families, particularly following the recent war involving Iran.
The broadcaster said its staff and their relatives have faced threats and harassment, describing the situation as an effort to silence independent reporting.
At least 2,707 people were executed across 17 countries in 2025, the rights group said in its annual report on the global use of the death penalty, describing the figure as the highest recorded since it began tracking executions in 1981.
Iranian authorities carried out at least 2,159 executions in 2025, more than double the figure recorded the previous year and by far the largest contributor to the global rise, according to the report.
“A shameless minority are weaponizing the death penalty to instill fear, crush dissent and punish marginalized communities,” Amnesty Secretary General Agnès Callamard said.
Drug-related executions drove increase
A resurgence of punitive anti-drug policies, Amnesty said, fueled much of the increase in executions globally.
Nearly half of all known executions in 2025 – 1,257 cases – were linked to drug-related offenses, including in Iran, China, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Kuwait.
Iran accounted for 998 of those executions, the highest number among countries identified in the report.
Saudi Arabia carried out at least 356 executions in 2025 and made extensive use of capital punishment in drug-related cases, Amnesty said.
The organization also reported increases in executions in several other countries, with Kuwait nearly tripling its total from six to 17 executions. Egypt’s number rose from 13 to 23, Singapore’s from nine to 17 and the United States from 25 to 47.
The report did not include the thousands of executions Amnesty believes continued to take place in China, which it said remained the world’s leading executioner.
Executing states remain minority
Despite the sharp rise in executions, Amnesty said countries carrying out the death penalty remained “an isolated minority.”
China, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, the United States, Vietnam and Yemen have all carried out executions every year for the past five years, according to the report.
Four countries resumed executions in 2025 – Japan, South Sudan, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates – bringing the total number of executing states to 17.
“It’s time for executing countries to step into line with the rest of the world and leave this abhorrent practice in the past,” Callamard said.
Amnesty highlights abolition efforts
The global trend toward abolishing the death penalty nevertheless continued, Amnesty said.
When the organization began campaigning against capital punishment in 1977, only 16 countries had abolished it. That number has now risen to 113, according to the report.
Vietnam abolished the death penalty for eight offenses including drug transportation, bribery and embezzlement, while Gambia removed capital punishment for murder, treason and other offenses against the state.
The organization also pointed to legislative efforts in Lebanon and Nigeria aimed at abolishing the death penalty, while Kyrgyzstan’s Constitutional Court ruled attempts to restore executions unconstitutional.
“With human rights under threat around the world, millions of people continue to fight against the death penalty each year in a powerful demonstration of our shared humanity,” Callamard said.
“We will definitely have inflation,” Pezeshkian said at a gathering of public relations officials from state institutions.
“We are fighting and we must accept the hardship that comes with it.”
Some critics questioned why prices continued to rise, Pezeshkian said, but argued that economic pain was unavoidable under the current circumstances.
They want to have their cake and eat it too, he said, using a Persian idiom.
The war between the United States, Israel and Iran began with coordinated US-Israeli strikes on Iranian military, nuclear and government targets on February 28. Iran launched missile and drone attacks targeting Israel, the US allies in the region and their infrastructure, while tensions around the Strait of Hormuz disrupted global energy market.
Although direct fighting has eased amid ceasefire and mediation efforts, tensions remain high as disputes over Iran’s nuclear program, sanctions, regional influence and maritime security continue without a lasting diplomatic breakthrough.
The president also opened his remarks with an unusual comment hinting at a lack of control over his own movements and schedule.
“I myself did not know where they were taking me. Suddenly they brought me here,” Pezeshkian said.
Damage and shortages acknowledged
Iran, Pezeshkian said, had suffered serious economic and infrastructure damage and could not pretend conditions were normal.
“It is not the case that we have not been harmed,” he said. “We must take on a wartime condition.”
Attacks, he said, had damaged around 230 million cubic meters of gas infrastructure as well as power plants, petrochemical facilities and major industrial sites, including Iran’s largest steel producer.
“We cannot say the enemy is collapsing and we are flourishing,” he said. “They have problems and we have problems too.”
The president said the public need to lower expectations and reduce consumption in order to withstand the situation.
Oil exports and fuel production under pressure
Pezeshkian also acknowledged growing difficulties in exporting Iranian oil and securing revenues under sanctions and regional pressure.
“They blocked the way and we are not exporting oil either,” he said. “We cannot export oil easily.”
Tax collection, he added, had become increasingly difficult because businesses and trade sectors were under economic strain.
Pezeshkian warned that fuel shortages and inflation would worsen without tighter management of energy consumption, saying gasoline production had fallen after damage to production facilities.
“Our gasoline production capacity has fallen. They hit it,” he said.
According to Pezeshkian, Iran currently produces around 100 million liters of gasoline per day while domestic demand has reached roughly 150 million liters daily.
“Do we even have the dollars to import gasoline and burn it?” he said.
The president called for stricter management of water, electricity, gas and gasoline consumption, saying economic problems, unemployment and inflation would deepen without conservation measures.
At a preliminary hearing on Friday that lasted about 30 minutes, Oisin McGuinness, 21, and Nathan Dunn, 19, appeared by video link before Mrs. Justice Cheema-Grubb at the Central Criminal Court.
A third defendant, who is under 16 and cannot be named for legal reasons, is also charged in the case.
No pleas were entered at Friday’s hearing. A Plea and Trial Preparation Hearing has been set for August 28, 2026, when pleas are expected to be heard. The trial is listed for three weeks.
McGuinness, Dunn and the third defendant are charged with arson with intent to endanger life, contrary to the Criminal Damage Act 1977.
The charges relate to an alleged incident on April 15, 2026, when an ignited container was thrown into a car park near the network’s studios in northwest London.
There were no reports of injuries or damage following the attempted attack. Officers pursued a black SUV which later crashed on Ballards Lane in Finchley.
McGuinness also faces a charge of dangerous driving, contrary to the Road Traffic Act 1988, in relation to alleged driving on Ballards Lane and Woodberry Way.
McGuinness and Dunn were remanded in custody. The third defendant is on remand under local authority supervision.
All charges are alleged and have not been proven.
In a statement, Iran International said the attack highlights increasing pressure on its journalists and their families, particularly following the recent war involving Iran.
The broadcaster said its staff and their relatives have faced threats and harassment, describing the situation as an effort to silence independent reporting.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged the bloc to oppose what he called the politicization of international institutions and take action against countries violating the UN Charter.
“The West's false sense of superiority and immunity must be shattered by all of us,” Araghchi said in a statement during the gathering.
His remarks come as Iran faces deepening economic strain, a collapsing currency and growing public frustration at home, weakening the image of resilience officials have sought to project.
High inflation and repeated protests over living costs have laid bare Iran’s domestic vulnerabilities, even as Tehran seeks to project itself as a challenger to Western influence.
The two-day meeting opened under the shadow of the Iran-US-Israel war, exposing divisions within an expanded BRICS bloc split by competing regional interests and differing ties with Washington.
The United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28 targeting military bases, missile infrastructure, nuclear facilities and senior commanders in an effort to weaken Tehran’s military capabilities and nuclear program.
Iran launched missile and drone attacks on Israel, US military assets and infrastructure linked to American allies in the Persian Gulf region.
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar warned that instability around key shipping lanes threatened the global economy.
“Safe and unimpeded maritime flows through international waterways, including the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, remain vital for global economic well-being,” Jaishankar said in opening remarks.
Iran has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz following joint US and Israeli strikes on its territory, issuing warnings to commercial vessels and tankers in the strategic waterway.
Traffic through the strait, which carries roughly one-fifth of global oil and gas trade, declined sharply as tanker operators suspended transit and vessels rerouted over security concerns.
The disruptions drew criticism from Western governments, Persian Gulf Arab states and shipping groups, which warned that threats to one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints could destabilize global trade and energy markets.
BRICS was founded by Brazil, Russia, India and China before South Africa joined in 2011. The bloc later expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the UAE.
Iran presses bloc for response
Araghchi used his address to accuse Washington and Israel of carrying out attacks against Iran and urged BRICS countries to take a firmer position on the conflict.
“Iran is asking BRICS members and all responsible members of the international community to explicitly condemn violations of international law by the United States and Israel,” he said.
Araghchi also portrayed BRICS as part of an emerging global order less dominated by Western powers and said developing countries faced similar political and economic pressure from Washington.
His comments did not address Iran’s own military and proxy activities across the region, including attacks by Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon against neighboring countries and US-linked targets in recent years.
Tehran also launched missile and drone attacks on Arab states aligned with Washington during the conflict, targeting military facilities and energy infrastructure in the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
The regional governments condemned the strikes as violations of sovereignty that threatened regional stability and energy supplies.
Differences inside BRICS have complicated efforts to reach a unified position on the conflict, particularly between Iran and the UAE, which support opposing sides in the war.
Despite the divisions, diplomats said discussions were continuing toward a possible joint statement before the meeting concludes on Friday.
