An attempted attack near the London studios of Iran International has heightened concerns over what the broadcaster says is a growing campaign of intimidation targeting its staff.
A suspicious vehicle was denied entry at the main entrance of its site on the evening of April 15. Shortly afterward, incendiary devices were thrown into the car park of a neighboring building just meters from its studios.
“Our security team responded immediately, and the police and fire brigade arrived shortly afterwards. We are grateful to them for their swift response,” Iran International’s editorial board said in a statement.
London’s Metropolitan Police said on April 16 that three people aged 16, 19 and 21 had been arrested after an ignited container was thrown toward Iran International’s offices in north-west London. The container landed in a car park without causing damage or injury.
Police said the case is not currently being treated as terrorism but is being investigated by Counter Terrorism Policing London.
The incident comes amid a sharp increase in threats and pressure directed at Iran International journalists and their families, particularly following the recent war involving Iran.
“In recent months, particularly following the recent military operation in Iran, there has been a marked increase in harassment targeting the relatives of Iran International journalists inside Iran,” the statement said.
Security agents have raided the homes of the parents and close relatives of several journalists, questioning them and confiscating phones and other electronic devices.
The intimidation campaign has intensified at a time when Iran has imposed sweeping internet shutdowns across the country. The current near-total blackout has lasted more than six weeks, making it the longest nationwide shutdown on record.
Iran’s IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency recently reported that prosecutors ordered the seizure of assets and freezing of bank accounts belonging to more than 100 individuals, including 63 journalists working for Iran International.
State media in Iran have also broadcast repeated threats against the channel, including calls for the network to be targeted by missiles.
“These actions amount to a campaign of transnational intimidation aimed at silencing independent journalism,” Iran International said.
In May 2024, United Nations experts warned that threats and violence against Iran International formed part of a broader pattern of repression targeting Persian-language journalists working abroad.
The channel temporarily relocated its operations from London to Washington in February 2023 following intelligence warnings of state-backed threats.
In March 2024, one of its presenters was stabbed outside his London home in an attack investigated by counter-terrorism police.
Iran International’s editorial board said the latest incident underscores the risks faced by journalists reporting on Iran from abroad.
“Journalists must not be threatened or attacked, and their families must not be used as a means of pressure,” the broadcaster said. “Such actions constitute an attack on individual safety, press freedom, and the public’s right to know.”
Information obtained by Iran International shows that Hatami, who was executed on April 2, remains unburied as authorities continue to withhold his body.
Hatami was one of the defendants in a case linked to a fire at the Mahmoud Kaveh Basij base on Namjoo Street in eastern Tehran during the January protests.
Others in the same case included Mohammadamin Biglari, Shahin Vahedparast Kalur, Abolfazl Salehi Siavashani and Ali Fahim, all of whom were sentenced to death.
Biglari and Vahedparast were executed on April 5, while Fahim’s execution was carried out on Monday, April 6.
Informed sources told Iran International that Hatami’s body has not been released because his name appeared on a website linked to the Mojahedin-e Khalgh organization, an allegation his family strongly rejects.
Sources familiar with the case said Hatami was an industrial design student at the University of Tehran and was fluent in three languages.
A source with knowledge of the events of January 8 said the case involved seven defendants, none of whom had any role in starting the fire.
According to the source, Hatami and the others entered the Basij base with around 50 other people only after the fire had already broken out.
Minutes later, another fire began. Many managed to escape, but seven people, including Hatami, were unable to flee.
They went to the rooftop, where they were detained by Basij forces and severely beaten, the source said.
Judicial authorities later accused the defendants of trying to gain access to the armory.
After their arrest, the detainees were subjected to severe interrogations and then transferred to Ghezel Hesar prison.
They were denied in-person visits throughout their detention and were allowed only phone calls.
Their trial was presided over by Judge Abolghasem Salavati, and they were denied access to lawyers of their own choosing.
Death sentences were issued on February 7.
Sources told Iran International that the confessions in the case were extracted under pressure and coercion, and that the judicial process ended in executions carried out without the defendants and their families having full knowledge of the proceedings.
In the same case, 28-year-old Shahin Vahedparast was also executed on April 5, and his body, too, has still not been returned to his family, according to informed sources.
Those sources said Vahedparast’s wife was four months pregnant at the time of his execution.
Relatives said he had dreamed of opening a restaurant with her.
