Ghalibaf lashes out at opponents of US talks

Iran International has received reports that an Iranian man was violently assaulted in central London. The Metropolitan Police are understood to be investigating.

The man has not been named. Sources say he was a professional working in the area and a peaceful opponent of the Iranian government.

The attack comes at a time of growing concern about threats, intimidation, and violence affecting people linked to Iran in Britain.

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The man has not been named. Sources say he was a professional working in the area and a peaceful opponent of the Iranian government.

The attack comes at a time of growing concern about threats, intimidation, and violence affecting people linked to Iran in Britain.

On Friday, British police charged three people over an attempted arson attack near the London offices of Iran International. Police said a burning container was thrown towards the broadcaster’s headquarters in north-west London. No one was injured, but the case has added to concerns about the safety of Persian-language media in Britain.

Before that, in March 2026, an Iran-aligned group was reported to have claimed responsibility for an arson attack on Jewish ambulances in Golders Green, north London.

In May 2025, three Iranian men were charged under the National Security Act after a major counter-terrorism investigation. Prosecutors said one of the men had carried out surveillance, reconnaissance, and online research with the aim of committing serious violence against a person in the UK.

The other two were accused of similar activity intended to help others carry out serious violence. The Home Secretary said the case was part of a broader response to threats linked to the Iranian state.

British authorities have warned for several years that Iran poses a serious threat on UK soil.

In October 2024, the head of MI5, Ken McCallum, said the security service and police had responded to 20 Iran-backed plots since January 2022 involving potentially lethal threats to British citizens and UK residents. He said many of the cases were linked to opponents of the Iranian state living in Britain.

The full circumstances of this latest assault are not yet public. But for many in the Iranian community, the message will already be clear. It will be seen as part of a wider climate of fear facing Iranians in exile, especially those who oppose the government in Tehran.

At least two young men have been killed by Basij and Revolutionary Guards forces at checkpoints in Iran in recent weeks, according to information received by Iran International.

One of them, identified as Morteza Madadi from Shahin Shahr in Isfahan province, was shot dead on March 8 by forces at a Basij checkpoint, sources said. He died after being hit in the chest.

Sources said his family has faced pressure and threats after seeking to pursue the case.

In a separate incident, a young man in Ramsar in northern Mazandaran province died after being stopped at a checkpoint and protesting during an inspection, according to local accounts.

He was attacked with a stun device by Basij forces and died at the scene, from cardiac arrest, the sources said, adding that his family has also been pressured not to publicize the case.

The incidents come as checkpoint controls have increased across the country, with citizens reporting vehicle stops, searches and phone inspections, according to messages sent to Iran International.

Senior Iranian officials have grown frustrated with a plan to generate revenue from shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, with little money collected despite expectations of significant income, sources familiar with the matter told Iran International.

Iran moved early in the war to control traffic through the strait and charge tankers about $2 million for transit permits, setting up a committee led by Mohammad-Bagher Zolghadr, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.

But the effort has produced limited results, with only about 60 permits issued, payment requests sent for just eight shipments and no funds collected so far, the sources said, citing weak management of the process.

The outcome has triggered concern at high levels of government and within the office of Iran’s supreme leader, they added.

Discussions have taken place about removing Zolghadr from the role and shifting oversight of the file to President Masoud Pezeshkian, according to the sources.

Sharp disagreements among members of Iran’s negotiating team led them to abandon US talks in Islamabad and return to Tehran on April 11 following an order from Iran's top security official, sources familiar with the deliberations told Iran International.

The sources said that during Friday’s negotiations with the United States, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi showed signs of flexibility in some of his positions, particularly regarding reducing or halting financial and military support for the so-called Axis of Resistance, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

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