The Iranian embassy in London has categorically rejected and condemned “baseless accusations” of British free-to-air public broadcast television network ITV about Iran’s plot to assassinate two London-based TV presenters.

ITV News on Thursday claimed that Iranian agents had offered a people-smuggler $200,000 to assassinate two news presenters outside their London studio.

An unfounded @007 story style by ⁦@ITV⁩ is completely rejected&condemned.

Regardless of the undeniable violent&subversive activities by the so-called media(TV)in the UK against Iran’s National Security,we also deny any link to who made these claims. https://t.co/ptz6LRnd6b

— S.M.Hosseini Matin (@smhmatin) December 21, 2023

The Iranian embassy dismissed the claims, saying they are “not only devoid of factual merit but also appear to be rooted in preconceived notions and a Hollywood-style narrative to pursue their malicious scheme and goal against the Islamic Republic of Iran which was in the agenda of some war wingers inside the UK for a while”.

“Iran as a responsible and transparent state is committed to its obligation according to international law and norms to not interfere in internal affairs of any country,” the embassy said in a letter.

The “unsubstantiated” claims of Iran’s attempt to assassinate the staff of the Persian-language Iran International channel, which is reportedly funded by Saudi Arabia, were first raised by the network and then propagated by the British media and authorities.

Last year, the channel sought to make a case in the British House of Commons for the designation of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, but the effort failed.  

At the time, Iran International claimed that two of its journalists working in the UK had received “credible” death threats from Iran’s security forces. Those claims were repeated in a House of Commons meeting by British MP Bob Blackman who had undertaken to push for the blacklisting of the IRGC.

The re-emergence of the claims is believed to be related to the new developments in the region, including a push by the US and the UK to build a coalition against the anti-Israeli resistance movement.

“It is disheartening to observe commissioned reporting that mirrors Hollywood sensationalism rather than adhering to the principles of objective journalism,” the Iranian embassy’s letter said Thursday.

“Such a report, exemplified by the recent ITV coverage, is not only condemned but strongly rejected. Accusations without proper substantiation undermine the credibility of journalism and contribute to the spread of misinformation.”