Free Republic

A British criminal court on Friday handed down multi-year prison terms to two Romanian citizens found guilty of knifing an anti-regime broadcaster outside his residence, a targeted assault the presiding judge explicitly attributed to the directives of the Iranian government, The Associated Press reported. Pouria Zeraati, a prominent host for the London-headquartered, opposition-affiliated network Iran International, survived being stabbed in the thigh during the March 2024 ambush outside his suburban Wimbledon home. Zeraati later left the UK and moved to Israel, saying he feels “much safer" in the Jewish state. Following a jury trial last month, a 21-year-old and a...

Tehran: Iranian authorities have dismissed a report claiming Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian has sought to step down in protest over the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) unchecked dominance in Tehran's wartime decision-making. The rebuttal came after UK-based Iran International reported that Pezeshkian had submitted his resignation to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, saying that the elected government has effectively been excluded from vital decision-making processes in the country and that the vacuum created by this situation has enabled hardline factions within the IRGC to take control of affairs. Citing an informed government source, the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency reported that the...

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has submitted an official letter of resignation to the Office of the Supreme Leader, a source familiar with the matter told Iran International. In the letter sent on Sunday, Pezeshkian stressed that the president and the government have effectively been excluded from major and vital decision-making processes in the country, and that the vacuum created by this situation has enabled hardline factions within the IRGC to take control of affairs, the source said. Pezeshkian added that under such circumstances he is unable to run the government and carry out his legal responsibilities, and for that reason...

A Farsi-language satellite news channel based in London long critical of Iran's theocratic government said Saturday it had moved its broadcasts to Washington “to protect the safety of its journalists” after reportedly being targeted by Tehran. The alleged targeting of Iran International comes as Tehran also has long harassed members of the BBC's Persian service for their work reporting on the country. -excerpt- Reached for comment, Iran International referred to a statement saying that “threats had grown to the point that it was felt it was no longer possible to protect the channel’s staff” or the public around its studio...