IRGC Plots To Assassinate Iran International Presenters in London

British broadcaster ITV has revealed a scheme by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to assassinate two presenters belonging to Iran International TV in London.

The report detailed that in October 2022, IRGC agents offered a people-smuggler $200,000 to kill Fardad Farahzad and Sima Sabet, current and former presenters of Iran International, at their residences with a kitchen knife. The plan was thwarted by the would-be assassin, who was reportedly a double agent.

ITV disclosed that initially, a car bomb was planned to detonate outside Iran International's London office in Autumn 2022. Security measures around the building led to a change in strategy, focusing instead on the targeted assassination of the presenters.

The report indicated that IRGC operatives justified the assassination plot by claiming Iran International had profoundly humiliated the Islamic Republic. The double agent shared with ITV that the IRGC's intention was to set an example for anyone aspiring to succeed the presenters at the channel.

Mohammad Reza Ansari, identified as an IRGC commander and under US sanctions, is alleged to be the primary planner of the assassination attempts. He reportedly instructed Muhammed Abd al-Razek Kanafani, linked to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, to execute the plan.

Kanafani, who was overseeing the plot, initially aimed to target the directors of Iran International, but later refocused on Farahzad and Sabet. Unbeknownst to the conspirators, Farahzad had moved to Washington, leaving only Sabet in London.

The report further states that the hired individual initially worked with the IRGC in 2016, but was later recruited by a Western intelligence agency. Upon being approached by the IRGC in 2022 for the assassination plot, he informed the intelligence agency.

This individual also claimed that Kanafani promised him $200,000 and new identity documents. Kanafani allegedly sent someone to photograph the Iran International office as part of the plot.

On Wednesday, a UK court jury found Chechnya-born Magomed-Husejn Dovtaev guilty of scouting Iran International's London office for a potential terror attack. Arrested in February 2023 by London’s Metropolitan Police Counter-Terrorism Command, he was charged with collecting information useful for terrorism.

The court will announce its final verdict on Friday.

In response to the court's decision, Iran International stated that it remains undeterred by threats, vowing to continue providing independent and uncensored news.

Due to terror threats, Iran International temporarily moved its broadcast from London to Washington in February and resumed broadcasting from a new London studio in September.