It was a message from the repressive regime that rules Iran; an advert.

I later learned that both men had gotten into a waiting blue Mazda and sped off. The three suspects, including the driver, left Britain shortly afterwards.

There are reports that they could have been criminal thugs from Eastern Europe hired for the job by Tehran.

My name is Pouria Zeraati. I am a presenter for Iran International, a television station broadcasting from Britain to Iran and the Middle East.

On March 29 I thought I was going to die on the streets of London; a British-Iranian murdered on the orders of a regime that cannot tolerate independent voices in the media or alternative points of view.

A 36-year-old husband who could not form the family he dreamed of with his wife.

I remember the ambulance and the police arriving, and I felt more and more dizzy. A neighbor called my wife, Oldouz Rezvani, who was outside.

“I had lost a lot of blood”

Oldouz arrived in a taxi. She was terrified when she saw the state in which her husband was soaked in blood.

He had lost a lot of blood. In the hospital, I was on the verge of unconsciousness, but I knew that a series of scans would reveal whether my life was at stake.

Fortunately, scans showed that nothing vital had been cut. I needed surgery but I would live and physically I feel better every day.

But other scars take longer to heal.

In the following months, I had a lot of time to reflect on my new life under 24-hour police protection and in a safe house.

It’s not glamorous like in the movies. I miss seeing my friends, going out, shopping, doing things in the blink of an eye.

I continue to broadcast my program but precautions must be taken, which I cannot detail here for obvious reasons. But I won’t be intimidated.

I have long been accustomed to threats on social media. They have increased since nationwide protests against mandatory hijab wearing shook the regime.

Threats at a fever pitch

After I interviewed Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, in his first interview with an Iranian platform in March of last year, the threats reached a fever pitch.

This is not the first time that Tehran has sent a warning to me or my colleagues at Iran International.

In 2022, my wife, who is Iranian but not a journalist, was confronted by men in broad daylight in London.

They told him in Farsi that they knew where we lived and that they would come and look for us both.

ITV has revealed plans by Iran and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to assassinate two of our presenters.

Still, I never seriously thought that the IRGC would go so far as to attack a British citizen on the streets of the UK.

The truth is that this is not an attack only on me. Or should I say, just me. It is an attack on journalism; It is an attack on those who want a free Iran; It is an attack on our channel, which is very popular in Iran.

It is also an attack on a British citizen on British soil and an attack on the values ​​of a country that has been my home since I moved here in 2007 to study.

The Government needs to understand that. And I personally believe that it is necessary to outlaw the IRGC as a terrorist organization, as the United States has done.

“Western civilization is in danger”

Sanctions have been imposed against this group in the past, but they clearly have not worked.

The entire Western civilization is in danger due to the threat posed by the IRGC.

Now, outlawing the group as a terrorist organization probably won’t change that, but it will give government officials the power and legal basis to take action to stop them promoting their ideology here in the UK.

It will also send a clear message to the Iranian regime that enough is enough. In the United States, it has helped cut off some of the IRGC’s funding and will help prevent some of its hostile activities outside Iran.

I hear arguments that this should not be done so that Britain can maintain its embassy in Tehran and direct contact with the regime.

But what has been the effect of holding direct talks with the Iranian regime? Has it been effective? No.

Let’s now look at what is happening between Iran and Israel. My personal opinion is that Iran is an extremist regime whose best friend is Vladimir Putin and that oppresses its own people.

Look at the protests, which continue. I believe that Iranians and Israelis have a common enemy: the Islamic Republic. Banning the IRGC will tell the majority of Iranians fighting the regime that Britain is on their side.

I have no doubt that one day Iran will be free again. We have a civilization that has lasted for at least 7,000 years of recorded history.

This theocratic regime has only existed for 45 years and has failed to suppress the true culture of Iran.

There is an Iranian saying: the light will conquer the darkness.