Two Romanian men jailed over London stabbing of Iran International presenter

Two Romanian men have been jailed in the UK over the 2024 stabbing of an Iranian television presenter outside his home in Wimbledon, southwest London. Euronews reports the men were convicted last month of wounding with intent in the attack on Pouria Zeraati, a presenter for the Persian-language outlet Iran International. The sentencing judge said the evidence “overwhelmingly” pointed to the assault being carried out “for the benefit of a foreign power”, naming Iran.

The case sits at the intersection of ordinary street violence and state-linked intimidation, with the practicalities handled through standard criminal procedure. Euronews says George Stana and Nandito Badea flew into the UK to carry out the attack, and prosecutors described surveillance of Zeraati’s property on multiple occasions before the stabbing. After the assault, both men fled the country and were later arrested in Romania in December 2024 before being extradited to the UK.

The sentences were differentiated by the court’s view of each man’s role. Euronews reports Stana was sentenced to 12 years in prison and Badea to eight years, with the judge saying Stana had been involved for longer and “ought to have known” the attack was on Iran’s behalf. A third man accused of involvement remains in Romania facing separate charges.

For the victim, the immediate harm was physical and the longer-term effect was displacement. Euronews reports Zeraati required emergency treatment after being stabbed several times in the leg, returned to work the following month, and later said in a victim impact statement that he relocated abroad out of fear of further reprisals.

British officials framed the verdict as deterrence against foreign-state operations on UK soil. Security minister Angela Eagle called the attack “abhorrent” and said the sentences sent a message that crimes committed on behalf of foreign states in the UK would be punished, according to Euronews.

Iran International operates from a heavily secured building in west London, Euronews notes, after Tehran labelled the channel and the BBC’s Persian-language service “terrorist” organisations in 2022. In this case, the court’s most specific claim about state involvement was delivered not in an intelligence briefing, but in a sentencing remark attached to a street-level stabbing outside a private home.