The London-based media outlet Iran International has filed an urgent appeal to the United Nations, revealing that 45 of its journalists and more than 300 of their relatives across eight countries have received explicit death threats from Iran’s Intelligence Ministry.
The threats warn staff to stop reporting on Iran or face execution, including the execution of their immediate family members.
The Persian-language news network, headquartered in London with additional bureaus in Washington and other global locations, said the campaign is part of a coordinated effort by Iranian authorities to silence dissent and intimidate the press. The threats mark what Iran International calls an “alarming and unprecedented escalation” in Tehran’s long-running campaign against the outlet.
In its formal appeal filed Tuesday with five UN special rapporteurs, Iran International’s legal team outlined that the threats have come with specific deadlines, all of which expired last week. The letter was sent to UN experts on freedom of expression, extrajudicial executions, torture, counterterrorism, and Iran.
“Iran International journalists, their families in Iran, and their families outside Iran are being threatened and harassed as never before,” said Mahmood Enayat, general manager of Iran International. “This is an unprecedented and concerted campaign to force them off air.”
The intimidation campaign targeted journalists, staff in UK, Canada, USA, Sweden, Germany, Turkey, Belgium
According to the filing, the intimidation campaign has targeted journalists and staff in the UK, USA, Canada, Sweden, Germany, Turkey, and Belgium, as well as their family members in Iran. The Iranian government allegedly accuses the journalists of espionage on behalf of Israel, a claim that intensified following the 12-day war between the two countries, which began on June 13, 2025.
“The number of targeted journalists continues to rise at a rapid and alarming rate,” the appeal states, warning that “more will be added within hours.”
The threats include credible warnings of execution, and in at least one recent case, violence has already occurred. In March 2024, Iran International journalist Pouria Zeraati was stabbed in London, part of what the organization describes as a wider pattern of kidnapping plots, physical assaults, surveillance, harassment, and online attacks directed at its staff.
Mark Stephens CBE, solicitor for Iran International, warned of a “horrifying development,” stating, “This is the unprecedented upranking of threats from isolated individual cases to credible, serious threats of mass murder.”
Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, lead counsel on the case, stressed the urgency of the situation, saying, “We must be particularly vigilant this August to ensure Iran International journalists and their loved ones are protected. The UN and all impacted states must take robust and swift action to hold Iran to account.”
Iran International has long been targeted by Tehran for its reporting, which reaches millions of Persian-speaking viewers inside and outside Iran. The Iranian government has previously labeled the channel a terrorist organization and has harassed staff and their families through seizures of property, travel bans, and interrogations.
The latest threats come amid rising tensions in the Middle East and as Iran faces growing internal unrest. The network’s legal team is urging immediate action from the UN and host countries, warning that, without intervention, lives could be lost.
The legal appeal was filed by a team from Howard Kennedy LLP and Doughty Street Chambers, including Stephens, Gallagher, Ayesha Salim, Tatyana Eatwell, and Jennifer Robinson.