Iranian state TV issues death threats against journalists based in Britain

One then appeared to invoke the Islamic Republic’s long history of targeting opponents abroad.

“We dealt with the Iraqi fighter pilots ten or 15 years after the war, my friends,” he said. “What was done to them was done.”

The remark appeared to refer to Colonel Ali Akbar Mohammadi, an Iranian military pilot who defected during the Iran-Iraq War and was assassinated in Hamburg.

One of the targeted journalists, whom the JC has chosen not to identify, said: “A friend informed me about the programme.

“For years I have lived under threats from the Islamic Republic, and Counter Terrorism Police are aware of my case.”

The presenter said the latest threat prompted an immediate response from police.

“When I informed Counter Terrorism Police, two officers came to see me almost immediately,” they said.

“But one of them asked why I didn’t complain to the Iranian authorities and open a legal case against the two presenters through the Iranian judicial system. I was shocked. I didn’t know how to explain my situation to them.”

The broadcaster said the response reflected a failure to understand the nature of the Iranian regime and the risks faced by dissidents living in exile.

The televised threats came only days before a court hearing involving a Greek national accused of carrying out surveillance on a London-based Iranian journalist.

Prosecutors allege that 46-year-old Ioannis Aidinidis travelled to Britain twice this year, in April and May, to monitor the journalist.

During his second visit, he allegedly installed a covert camera concealed inside a sock, capable of transmitting information to individuals outside the UK.

According to prosecutors, Aidinidis photographed addresses and vehicle registration plates linked to the journalist and received funding to conduct the operation.

He was arrested in West Sussex on May 16 by Counter Terrorism Police officers and appeared before Westminster magistrates’ court, where he was remanded in custody. He is due to appear at the Old Bailey on June 19.

Ahead of the hearing, Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, acknowledged concerns within Britain’s Persian-speaking community.

“We know this may cause concern for many people here in the UK, and particularly those working in Persian-language media,” she said.

The case is the latest in a growing series of incidents linked to Iranian efforts to intimidate critics abroad.

Last month, a British-Iranian man told the JC that he had been approached by individuals he believed to be acting on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) while in southern Europe and was offered £40,000 to murder an anti-regime journalist living in Britain.

Against that backdrop, the recent broadcast on Iranian state television appears to be part of a wider campaign of intimidation directed at regime opponents overseas.

The threats are not limited to dissident journalists. Iran-aligned groups have increasingly targeted Jewish communities and institutions across Europe. One such organisation, Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, or “The Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand”, has repeatedly claimed responsibility for attacks on Jewish sites in Britain and elsewhere in Europe, including attacks on two north London synagogues last month.

British security officials have become increasingly vocal about the threat posed by Tehran.

Ken McCallum, director general of MI5, has repeatedly warned that the Iranian regime and its proxies represent a “potentially lethal” danger to individuals living in the UK.

Since 2022, British authorities have disrupted dozens of Iran-linked plots targeting dissidents, journalists, and Jewish and Israeli-linked individuals.

Critics argue that Britain’s failure to proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist organisation has allowed its ideology and messaging to circulate unhindered.