Stabbed Iranian journo comes back to work; says 'the show must go on'

London: A journalist who is working for an independent Iranian media house in London who got stabbed last week has returned to work. Journalist Pouria Zeratti, who was attacked outside his home, said "the show must go on", on returning to work, Agence France-Presse reported.

Zeraati, the 36-year old journo is a presenter for Iran International, was hospitalised after he was wounded in his leg after an attack on March 29. He called the attack a "warning shot". He told ITV that the fact that the attackers stopped with his leg was their choice.

He said that the attackers had the opportunity to kill him. He explained that one person was holding him while the other used a knife on him, adding that the assaulters had the opportunity to stop anywhere they wanted.

Zerati said that he had returned to work on Friday, saying that whatever the attackers' motive was, "the show must go on", AFP quoted him.

The attack happened in southwest London, and the two assaulters left the spot at Heathrow Airport and left the UK within hours, London's Metropolitan Police said.

Detectives suspect that the motive behind the attack could be that the victim works for a Persian-language media organisation based in the UK.

Meanwhile, Iran's charge d'affaires in the UK, Mehdi Hosseini Matin, denied that Iran's administration has any link to the assault.

The Metropolitan Police has previously thwarted plots in the UK to kidnap or murder British or Britian-based people perceived as Tehran's enemies. Also, the Iran administration has declared Iran International as a terrorist organisation, which increases the targeted-attack suspicion.

Last year, the UK administration imposed tougher sanctions against Iran over alleged human rights violations and hostile actions against its dissidents in the UK's territory.