LONDON-Two British-Iranian journalists for the UK-based Persian-language TV channel Iran International have been warned of a possible risk to their lives, a UK law enforcement source has confirmed.
Parent company Volant Media said the Metropolitan Police had notified the pair of a recent increase in “credible” threats from Iranian security forces. It denounced the “escalation of a state-sponsored campaign to intimidate Iranian journalists working abroad”. Iranian authorities have not commented.
However, they announced sanctions against Iran International and BBC News Persian last month, accusing them of “incitement of riots” and “support of terrorism” over their coverage of the anti-government protests that have engulfed the country over the past two months. The two UK-based channels are already banned from Iran, but a press freedom watchdog says they are among the main sources.