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Two Romanians on Trial for Iran-Ordered Journalist Stabbing

5/21/2026

27 6 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

Prosecutors allege the stabbing was a state-directed proxy attack ordered for Iran.
Two Romanian men face trial in Woolwich Crown Court for stabbing journalist Pouria Zeraati in Wimbledon.
Zeraati said he was stabbed three times in the thigh, stopped the bleeding with his belt, and was taken to hospital.
Prosecutors showed surveillance of the men scouting Zeraati’s address from March 2023 and buying a getaway car on 6 March 2024.

History

Historical Context

On 22 July 1980, Iranian intelligence ordered the killing of former diplomat Ali Akbar Tabatabaei in Bethesda, Maryland. American convert Dawud Salahuddin, posing as a postman, shot him and was paid $5,000. The murder, the last successful Iranian plot on U.S. soil, highlighted Tehran’s pattern of extraterritorial repression that continues today.

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Story summary

Prosecutors allege the stabbing was a state-directed proxy attack ordered for Iran.
Two Romanian men face trial in Woolwich Crown Court for stabbing journalist Pouria Zeraati in Wimbledon.
Zeraati said he was stabbed three times in the thigh, stopped the bleeding with his belt, and was taken to hospital.
Prosecutors showed surveillance of the men scouting Zeraati’s address from March 2023 and buying a getaway car on 6 March 2024.

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