LONDON — A London court has handed down lengthy prison sentences to two Romanian men convicted of carrying out a state-sponsored stabbing attack against a prominent exiled Iranian journalist on British soil, in a case that has laid bare the growing threat of transnational Iranian aggression targeting opponents on U.K. territory.
Pouria Zeraati, a well-known host for London-based Persian-language opposition broadcaster Iran International, was attacked and stabbed in the leg in March 2024 as he stood outside his residential home in London’s Wimbledon neighborhood.
Following a jury trial last month, 21-year-old Nandito Badea, a former professional soccer player, and 25-year-old George Stana were found guilty of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. At Friday’s sentencing hearing at London’s Central Criminal Court, Judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb concluded that evidence in the case overwhelmingly confirmed the plot was directed and ordered by the Iranian government.
“I am sure that this was an attack carried out for and for the benefit of a foreign power,” the judge stated in her ruling.
According to case details presented by law enforcement, Badea and an unidentified third assailant carried out the stabbing directly, before fleeing the scene in a getaway car driven by Stana. The pair flew out of the United Kingdom from London Heathrow Airport just hours after the attack. After months of cross-border law enforcement coordination, Badea and Stana were apprehended in Romania in December 2024 and extradited back to the U.K. to face trial. A third suspect, David Andrei, remains in Romanian custody, where criminal proceedings against him are ongoing.
In sentencing, Cheema-Grubb ruled that Stana was fully aware the attack was being carried out on behalf of Iranian authorities, and sentenced him to 12 years in prison. Badea, who was involved in the conspiracy for a shorter period of time, received an eight-year prison term.
This case marks the latest in a rising pattern of Iran-linked plots targeting opponents and minority groups on U.K. soil, according to British security and counter-terrorism officials. U.K. authorities have repeatedly warned that Iran increasingly uses criminal proxy actors based in Europe to carry out attacks against dissidents, opposition media and the British Jewish community.
Iran International, which operates outside of Iran to provide independent coverage critical of Tehran’s theocratic government, has faced escalating state-backed threats from Iran for years. In 2023, the broadcaster temporarily relocated its headquarters to Washington, D.C., after it described a major escalation of targeted threats from Tehran. It later resumed operations from an undisclosed new location in London. Prosecutors told the court that Zeraati, one of the channel’s most high-profile presenters, had been specifically targeted: a billboard displaying his image was spotted in the Iranian capital Tehran emblazoned with a “Wanted: Dead or Alive” notice.
Though Zeraati recovered from his physical injuries and has returned to his journalistic work, the attack left lasting psychological harm. In a victim impact statement, he shared that the incident left him permanently “scared and anxious,” and forced him to relocate outside of the U.K. to avoid the risk of further reprisals.
Senior Iranian diplomat based in the U.K. has denied any involvement by the Tehran government in the attack, a claim rejected by the court’s findings.
Chief Superintendent Kris Wright of Counter Terrorism Policing London said the court’s ruling backed up law enforcement’s core argument that the attack was ordered by the Iranian regime. “Our message to anyone being asked to carry out activity by foreign states or even unknown entities online is to think again, because you will be caught and you will face justice,” Wright said.
Ken McCallum, head of Britain’s domestic intelligence agency MI5, warned in an October 2024 address that British authorities had disrupted more than 20 potentially lethal Iran-backed plots targeting people on U.K. soil in the preceding 12 months. In recent months, an Iranian proxy group has claimed responsibility for a wave of antisemitic attacks across the U.K., including stabbings and attempted fire bombings targeting synagogues.