Israeli intelligence was behind the effort to stop an imminent threat against an Iranian journalist in the U.K., according to a new report.
Iran International said that two of its reporters had been notified of an “imminent, credible and significant risk to their lives and those of their families. Other members of our staff have also been informed directly by the [London] Metropolitan Police of separate threats” earlier in November.
The report has revealed that the source of the intelligence was from Israeli security services to British authorities.
The threat was blamed on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as the group responsible for seeking to attack the Iranian journalists who had opposed Iran’s regime.
Several police vehicles arrived outside the studio of Iran International television in London on Saturday following the report of the threat.
“Whilst we will not be going into detail as to what these are, it does include the presence of overt armed police officers in the vicinity of the west London offices of a UK-based Persian language media company,” the force told AFP in a statement.
The channel was likely under threat due to broadcasting video of recent protests in Iran. The Iranian government has listed Iran International as a terrorist organization, but many still access it within Iran via the internet.
The outlet has expressed concern over the threats and has welcomed the police presence. The network claims it plans to continue its operations despite the opposition from Iran’s government.
The U.K. sees the threat as a direct attack by Iran on British soil and strongly opposes the threats. According to MI5, the threats are among at least 10 discovered this year from Iran.