Two men jailed for stabbing Iran International presenter in Wimbledon

Two Romanian men were jailed at Woolwich Crown Court for the knife attack on Iran International presenter Pouria Zeraati, after Judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb found the assault was carried out on behalf of, or for the benefit of, the Iranian regime. George Stana, 25, received a 12-year sentence and Nandito Badea, 21, received eight years for the attack on Queensmere Road in Wimbledon, southwest London, on 29 March 2024.

Zeraati was leaving his home and heading toward his car when the men approached him. One asked for money before Zeraati was held by one attacker and stabbed multiple times in the leg by the other, leaving him in need of emergency treatment. He survived the assault and later returned to work, but told the court he felt scared and anxious and had moved abroad for fear of reprisals.

The two men fled the United Kingdom immediately after the stabbing, taking a route through New Malden and Heathrow Airport before leaving on a flight to Geneva. Investigators later identified a third suspected accomplice, David Andrei, who faces separate proceedings in Romania. Badea and Stana were arrested in Romania in December 2024 and extradited back to Britain.

The court accepted that the assault was a targeted attack tied to the Iranian state. The judge also ruled that the “foreign power condition” under the National Security Act applied to Stana because of his extensive planning and lengthy involvement, meaning he knew or ought to have known the attack was connected to Iran. That finding did not apply to Badea.

Officers will continue working with international partners to identify and bring suspects to justice. Iran International’s parent company welcomed the guilty verdicts and its journalists were subject to an ongoing campaign of intimidation by Iran. Iran’s senior diplomat in the UK denied Tehran was behind the attack.