Statement by Iran International's Editorial Board on escalating threats and intimidation
Iran International condemns the attempted attack near its London studios on the evening of 15 April.
Iran International condemns the attempted attack near its London studios on the evening of 15 April.
At around 8:15 pm, a suspicious vehicle was denied entry at the main entrance to our site. Shortly afterwards, incendiary devices were thrown into the car park of a neighbouring building, just metres from our studios. Our security team responded immediately, and the police and fire brigade arrived shortly afterwards. We are grateful to them for their swift response.
On 16 April, the Metropolitan Police confirmed they had arrested three people after an ignited container was thrown towards the offices of a Persian-language media organisation in north-west London. The container landed in a car park without causing damage or injury. They also said the case is not currently being treated as a terrorist incident but is being investigated by Counter Terrorism Policing London.
The police investigation is ongoing. At this stage, the motives and intentions of those involved have not been established, and we will not speculate while inquiries continue. But this was a serious incident, and it comes at a time of growing threats and intimidation directed at Iran International and those connected to its journalists.
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. Security agents have raided the homes of the parents and close family members of several of our journalists. Relatives have been questioned in their homes, in some cases filmed, and pressured to identify themselves as the parents of specific journalists. Phones and other electronic devices have been confiscated. Some have also been interrogated about their bank accounts, assets, and property, despite having no connection to their relatives’ journalistic work.
These actions are part of a wider effort to restrict the free flow of information and deny the Iranian people access to independent news. They have intensified at a time when the authorities have imposed sweeping internet shutdowns and the media inside Iran remains under tight state control. As of today, Iran’s near-total internet blackout has entered its 48th day, making it the longest nation-scale shutdown of its kind on record. When internet access is cut and domestic media are tightly controlled, foreign-based Persian-language broadcasters remain among the few reliable sources of news for people inside the country.
For tens of millions of Iranians, Iran International is a principal source of independent news.
This pressure has been accompanied by public threats and punitive measures. The IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency has reported that the Tehran Prosecutor’s Office ordered the seizure of assets and the freezing of bank accounts of more than 100 people, including 63 journalists from Iran International. At the same time, threats against Iran International have continued on Iranian state television, where repeated calls have been broadcast for the channel to be targeted by missiles. Iran International has no offices or staff in Iran or elsewhere in the region.
Iran has also continued efforts to target the computers and mobile phones of individual journalists. In several European countries and in North America, authorities have notified us of sustained cyberattacks targeting our journalists. These incidents form part of the wider intimidation and harassment directed at Iran International and its journalists.
Taken together, these actions amount to a campaign of transnational intimidation aimed at silencing independent journalism. Journalists must not be threatened or attacked, and their families must not be used as a means of pressure. Such actions constitute an attack on individual safety, press freedom, and the public’s right to know.
In May 2024, UN experts stated that threats and violence against Iran International formed part of a broader pattern of repression targeting Persian-language journalists operating abroad. In February 2023, Iran International temporarily relocated its broadcasting operations from London to Washington DC following a significant escalation in state-backed threats. In January 2024, the UK announced sanctions linked to a plot to assassinate two Iran International presenters on UK soil. In March 2024, one of our presenters was stabbed outside his London home in an attack investigated by counter-terrorism police. Together, these incidents point to a sustained effort to intimidate Iran International and silence independent Persian-language journalism beyond Iran’s borders.
We thank the British authorities for their continued support and for taking threats against journalists and media organisations seriously.
Iran International will continue its work. We remain committed to independent journalism and to reporting the facts without fear or intimidation.
