Two men found guilty of 'targeted' knife attack on journalist on behalf of Iranian state handed lengthy jail terms

Published: 17:33, 3 July 2026 | Updated: 17:40, 3 July 2026 Two hitmen hired by the Iranian regime have been jailed for a total of 20 years for stabbing a television journalist on a suburban south London street. Broadcaster Pouria Zeraati was stabbed three times in the leg in broad daylight outside his home as he was making his way to his Tesla to drive to the studio for his show, in a case that exposed the use by Tehran of proxies in the UK. His attackers were members of a team that flew in from Romania and spent a month running surveillance operations on a house in an exclusive street close to the Wimbledon tennis tournament in South London. The men, who worked in construction but had extensive links to the criminal underworld, were motivated by money and acting as 'proxies' for the Iranian state, Duncan Atkinson KC, prosecuting, said. David Andrei, 22, grabbed the presenter from behind, pinning his arms to his side, while Nandito Badea, 21, a former professional footballer, drew a knife and stabbed him on March 29 2024. Andrei and Badea, who was wearing a hooded top with the word 'gangster', ran off laughing and jumped into a blue Mazda 3TS hatchback, driven by George Stana, 25, who was waiting in a side road with the engine running. The men drove to Cavendish Avenue in New Malden where they abandoned the car, dumped their clothing in a nearby bin and used the Bolt app to call a taxi, heading for Heathrow Airport. The judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said there was 'overwhelming' evidence that the attack was commissioned by Iran and, jailing Stana for 12 years at the Old Bailey, she said he 'knew or ought to have known' that he was acting on behalf of the Iranian regime. CCTV captured the moment Pouria Zeraati was stabbed repeatedly in the leg before running away from his attackers outside his home in Wimbledon, South London, in March 2024 'You were in England only to make money and you would do anything for it,' the judge added. 'This was a grave and cowardly attack using repeated use of a knife against an unsuspecting victim in a public place.' Badea was jailed for eight years for the same offence after the judge said she could not be sure that he knew he was acting for Iran. In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mr Zeraati said he had been left unable to walk unaided for five to six weeks and had to take regular pain medication. He said he was left 'scared and anxious' and his fears escalated to a point where he had to move address several times and eventually relocate abroad to avoid further reprisals. He had a panic alarm fitted and still wears a hat and glasses to avoid being recognised when leaving the house, he said. Peter Caldwell KC for Stana said his client had been 'used as a disposable tool by sophisticated actors' and David Spens KC for Badea said he had been 'a potential fall guy' by 'those above him.' Stana, who had left school at 12 in the village of Draganesti near Bucharest, was functionally illiterate and had a childhood blighted by poverty, domestic violence and alcohol related abuse, the court heard. Mr Zeraati was hospitalised after the stabbing, which was carried out by three men said to be acting as criminal 'proxies' for the Iranian regime George Stana and Nandito Badea were recruited, and flown in from Romania, to carry out the attack He confessed in court to travelling through France and Switzerland on a shop-lifting spree, stealing high end clothing and perfumes, and facilitating prostitution in Southport. He was regularly entering and leaving Britain and claimed to be working as a day labourer on construction sites, offering his services at an informal labour market outside Wickes in Seven Sisters, North London. Badea, who was hired as the 'muscle', had played for FC Astra Giurgiu and CS Blejoi in Romania before working in construction. He had met Andrei at a music festival in his home town of Ploiesti, a town 30 miles north of Bucharest. Andrei could not be extradited because he was subject to domestic proceedings in Romania. Stana claimed he was called in to be the getaway driver for a robbery on Zeraati who had a collection of expensive watches that included Rolex, Hublot, Cartier and Schaffhausen. However, investigators believe he acted as co-ordinator for the plot which was funded through his brother-in-law who had been deported from the UK after serving two prison sentences. Constantine Matache, known as 'Bebe', ran a London construction company called Hemroc Ltd, and hired the men, operating with another Romanian man called Catalin Dumitru. The plot was said to be funded by an Iranian-British businessman called Edgar Hakkopian, 41, who ran the Tehran Lounge cafe in Finchley, North London. Badea,a former midfielder, had previously been a footballer for a couple of Romanian clubs. He relocated to England to do construction work after his professional football career ended The target, Mr Zeraati, was a high-profile presenter for Iran International, a dissident TV station then based in Chiswick, West London which had been repeatedly targeted by the Iranians. In 2022 the TV station was designated as a terrorist organisation by the Iranian regime which declared that anyone working with the organisation would be deemed a threat to Iranian national security. In November 2022 posters were put up in Tehran, the Iranian capital, which featured pictures of a number of journalists including Zeraati, under the heading 'Wanted: dead or alive'. Around the same time his wife was threatened by two men on a motorbike as she was walking along a street in Chelsea, heading to the Harbour Club. Badea and Stana were found guilty of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. Police said a 40-year-old man was arrested in January 2025 in the Cricklewood area of London on suspicion of conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm and 'he remains under investigation in relation to this matter.' It also emerged Stana had tried to attack Zeraati a year earlier but he was arrested when neighbours became suspicious of his activity, walking through the communal gardens with another man, wearing surgical face masks and latex gloves.  Chief Superintendent Kris Wright, head of Protective Security Operations for Counter Terrorism Policing London said: 'It was our case that this targeted and violent attack on a journalist was carried out on behalf of the Iranian regime, and the Judge agreed with that assessment of the evidence.  'Our recent casework shows an increasing use of so-called 'proxies' by hostile foreign states to conduct illegal activity and attacks in the UK. But this case, and others, show that we will not tolerate this and that we will work with our partners in the UK and internationally to identify those involved and bring them to justice. 'Our message to anyone being asked to carry out activity by foreign states or even unknown entities online is to think again, because you will be caught and you will face justice.' MI5 has intercepted 20 plots by the Iranians to either kidnap or kill British based individuals perceived as enemies of the Iranian regime since 2022.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. 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