Police protect Iran news channel whose journalists had death threats

Heavy Met Police presence remains at London HQ of Iran news channel whose journalists have received death threats after broadcasting footage of anti-regime protests into the Middle East country

Armed police and armoured vehicles outside Iran International in west London
Police confirmed armed officers in place at a UK-based Persian media company
Met said there are potential threats against ‘a number of UK-based individuals’
Iran International have been broadcasting 24-hour coverage of street protests
Comes after Mahsa Amini, 22, died in police custody in Tehran in September

Heavy Met Police protection remains in place at the London HQ of an Iran news channel whose journalists have received death threats from Tehran after broadcasting footage of anti-regime protests into the Middle-East country.

Armed police have been spotted outside the Iran International offices in Chiswick, west London, alongside multi-role armoured vehicles called Jankels.

High metal fencing and concrete Hostile Vehicle Mitigation (HMV) barriers are also surrounding the building – reportedly put up overnight on Friday and Saturday.

It’s not the first time they have been called into action as anti-terror police were deployed last weekend to guard the TV studio too.

Armed police have been spotted outside the Iran International offices in Chiswick, west London, alongside multi-role armoured vehicles called Jankels

High metal fencing and concrete Hostile Vehicle Mitigation (HMV) barriers are also surrounding the building – reportedly put up overnight on Friday and Saturday

The Farsi language news channel has enraged Iran with its coverage of huge street protests that have engulfed the nation since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in September.

Amini died in custody after she was detained in Tehran by Iranian morality police who believed she was wearing her hijab too loosely.

It has sparked widespread protests which Iran International been broadcasting 24-hours a day back to Iran on satellite.

Police have confirmed that ‘officers are working in response to potential threats projected from Iran against a number of UK-based individuals’.

A Met Police spokesperson added: ‘Those affected have been given appropriate advice and support and a number of protective security measures have been put in place to mitigate against these threats.

‘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.

‘This is a precautionary measure and we would ask the public to be alert but not alarmed by the presence of police in the area.’

The Met Police confirmed that the protection is in place due to potential threats to UK-based individuals

Many of the protests in Iran have been calling for an end to the oppressive ruling of the Islamic Republic. Pictured: President Ebrahim Raisi chairing a Cabinet session in Tehran today

Mahsa Amini (pictured) was just 22-years-old when she died in police custody in Tehran, sparking global protests

Working alongside MI5, the Met Police has come out in numbers to protect the 100 or so employees of Iran International – some of whom have personally received death threats.

Last week, an insider at the station said it was ‘very concerning’ that the armed officers were patrolling outside the offices, adding that it ‘must be based on a specific threat to us’.

Many of the protests in Iran have been calling for an end to the oppressive ruling of the Islamic Republic.

The authorities have not been listening to the cries for an end to the oppression but have instead arrested thousands of people and hit out at the West, accusing the media of provoking civil unrest.

On November 16, the boss of MI5 dramatically revealed that Iran has plotted to kill or kidnap at least 10 British residents it accuses of being ‘enemies of the regime’ on UK soil this year alone.

Protesters march through St Peter’s Square in Manchester today in protest against the Islamic Republic

Protests have been global since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. Pictured: A street protest takes placed in Turkey from Iranians living in the country.

Director general Ken McCallum said while Tehran had long used violence to silence critics at home, its ‘aggressive intelligence services’ have now crossed the line to threatening Britain directly.

‘At its sharpest, this includes ambitions to kidnap or even kill British or UK-based individuals perceived as enemies of the regime,’ he said.

MI5 boss reveals Iran plots

On November 16, the boss of MI5 dramatically revealed that Iran had plotted to kill or kidnap at least 10 British residents it accuses of being ‘enemies of the regime’ on UK soil this year alone.

‘At its sharpest, this includes ambitions to kidnap or even kill British or UK-based individuals perceived as enemies of the regime,’ he said.

‘We have seen at least 10 such potential threats since January alone.’

Foreign Secretary James Celverly also said earlier this month that he was forced to call in Iran’s charge d’affaires, Mehdi Hosseini Matin, to make it clear that ‘intimidation of any kind’ to UK-based journalists would not be tolerated.

It came after police said they had received ‘credible information’ that Iranian security forces were threatening journalists in the UK.

Today, more unrest continues with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s niece, a well known rights activist, calling on foreign governments to cut all ties with Tehran over its violent crackdown on popular unrest.

A video of a statement by Farideh Moradkhani, an engineer whose late father was a prominent opposition figure married to Khamenei’s sister, was being widely shared online after what activist news agency HRANA said was her arrest on Nov 23.

‘O free people, be with us and tell your governments to stop supporting this murderous and child-killing regime,’ Moradkhani said in the video.

‘This regime is not loyal to any of its religious principles and does not know any rules except force and maintaining power.’

Khamenei’s office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

HRANA claim that 450 protesters have been killed in more than two months of nationwide unrest as of yesterday, including 63 children.

It said 60 members of the security forces had been killed, and 18,173 protesters detained.

The protests pose one of the strongest challenges to the country’s clerical establishment since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iranians have used the World Cup stage to voice their disapproval at the Islamic Republic. Pictured: A woman holds up a shirt for Mahsa Amini during Iran’s game against Wales

Jalal Mahmoudzadeh, a member of parliament from the mainly Kurdish city of Mahabad, said on Sunday that as many as 105 people had been killed in Kurdish-populated areas during the protests. He was speaking in a debate in parliament as quoted by the Entekhan website.

News out of the country is limited amid widespread internet outages, but it is thought hundreds – if not thousands – of demonstrators have been killed by security forces in an increasingly violent crackdown.

Rights groups accuse security forces of firing live ammunition and birdshot at demonstrators, and of beating them with batons, violence captured in numerous videos circulated online.

Iranians have also used the World Cup in Qatar to voice their anger at the Islamic Republic.

During England’s game against Iran, Iranian fans in the stands chanted Amini’s name, held signs and wore T-shirts with protest slogans and booed during the national anthem.

But last week, tensions rose even further as Israel’s intelligence chief claimed this week that Iran was considering an attack on the World Cup to draw attention away from protests in the country.

Major General Aharon Haliva warned that Tehran may launch an attack on the football tournament in Qatar to create instability in the region.

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