‘Iran won’t change…’: UK-based TV presenter on Tehran’s kill list for dissent; 15 marked since 2022

As the unsealing of an indictment by the US Department of Justice revealed that Iran allegedly hired Canadian assassins to eliminate dissidents on American soil, there emerged another plot by Iran to kill two UK-based TV presenters in British.

What Iran has been allegedly doing has been dubbed as ‘transnational repression’—going outside one’s borders to muzzle and target dissidents.

The targeting of Sima Sabet and Fardad Farahzad—they worked for the TV news station London-based Iran International—was just one of at least 15 credible threats to kill or kidnap British nationals and others living in the UK since the beginning of 2022, The Guardian reported on the authority of British officials.

The Guardian quoted Sabet: “The Islamic Republic suppresses people inside, and also those critical of the regime outside, adding to instability and tensions in other countries. It won’t change its behaviour unless it feels the pressure.”

Farahzad told The Guardian that it was “alarming to witness the lengths to which the Iranian government is willing to go to silence journalists and suppress freedom of expression. Such actions are a stark reminder of the challenges and dangers that journalists face, particularly when reporting on issues that are critical or sensitive to authoritarian regimes.”

The United States and the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on a network of people for targeting anti-Iran activists, the US Treasury Department said. According to the department, the network is run by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security.

The Guardian quoted BBC staffers in London as having told the media outlet that they feared walking outside alone after being harassed by the Iranian authorities. They were warned: “We can do whatever we want in London.”

Iran’s hands in the US
Tehran allegedly hired two Canadians to carry out assassinations on US soil.

The scandal was blown open after the US Department of Justice unsealed an indictment.

According to the unsealed documents, the Iranian, an alleged drug dealer, was being handled by an officer in Iranian ministry of intelligence.

The US Department of Justice described this case as part of a disturbing pattern of transnational repression, where operatives from countries like Iran and China target dissidents with harassment, intimidation, and violence.

The Iranian man, Naji Sharifi Zindashti, has been charged alongside two Canadians for conspiring to kill two individuals, including a defector from Iran, who sought refuge in the United States.

Zindashti, believed to be residing in Iran, is accused of operating a criminal network on behalf of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security, orchestrating acts of transnational repression against critics of the regime. The plot, allegedly involving Zindashti and the two Canadians, was disrupted between December 2020 and March 2021.

(with inputs from Reuters)