LONDON: Stabbed Iranian journalist Pouria Zeraati said Tuesday he was “feeling much better” but he is still far from fully recovering.

The Iran International presenter spoke to BBC Radio 4’s “Today” program about the attack and the toll it has taken on his life.

“I’m feeling much better physically, but as you know, mental recovery takes time,” Zeraati said, adding that “the show must go on”.

The journalist was attacked late last month outside his home in south London. He was stabbed by three men and hospitalized with injuries to his leg.

Recalling the moment of the assault, Zeraati told BBC Radio 4 that he was going to his car to head to the studio when a “suspicious” looking man approached him and asked for some change.

“He pretended to be asking for change, as I was saying, ‘excuse me I don’t have any change,’ and I was going to unlock the door, the second man approached,” he said.

“They grabbed me from the front, very strong, I couldn’t move my hands” before one of the attackers stabbed him in the leg.

The pair immediately fled in a car that was waiting to drive them to Heathrow Airport.

“I just noticed all my belongings are with me, including my mobile phones, my watch, my AirPods, my wallet with cash in it, so the moment I just saw everything is with me, I noticed this is regarding my job, because it wasn’t a robbery,” he told “Today.”

He was taken to the hospital shortly after and later discharged. He is currently staying in a safe place under police supervision.

The Metropolitan Police said the suspects had left the UK but are still investigating the reason behind the attack.

Staff of Iran International have previously been targeted by threats linked to the Iranian regime, and the dissident broadcast had been listed as a terrorist organization in Iran for its coverage of Iran’s 2022 uprising.

Iran’s charge d’affaires in the UK, which serves as the head of its diplomatic mission, has denied any link between the Iranian regime and the attack on Zeraati.

The journalist returned to work earlier this month as a way to “send the message back”.

“I’m here, the show is going on, and my audience is still watching this show,” Zeraati said.

LONDON: British TV presenter Rachel Riley has responded to criticisms she received after posting a message on social media platform X in which she appeared to link a stabbing rampage at a Sydney shopping mall on Saturday, which left six people dead, with ongoing protests calling for a Palestinian “intifada,” or uprising.

The celebrity, best known for appearing on the Channel 4 game shows “Countdown” and “8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown” said she apologized if her words had been “misunderstood.”

In a message posted soon after the attacks, Riley, whose mother is Jewish, wrote: “For six months now, people have been out on our streets proudly calling for the ‘Intifada Revolution’. If you want to know what ‘Globalised Intifada’ looks like, see the Sydney Mall.”

She immediately faced a backlash, including accusations of racism and Islamophobia and calls for her to be sacked by Channel 4.

Do not let Rachel Riley get away with it.

Her words: "If you want to know what ‘Globalise the Intifada’ looks like, see the Sydney Mall."

"Sydney mall, multiple times over is what they’ve been proudly calling for."

She is full of it and knows exactly what she meant. I hope… https://t.co/iLBwHxnGby

— Bushra Shaikh (@Bushra1Shaikh) April 14, 2024

In response, she posted a message on Sunday in which she said her tweet was not intended to link the attack in Sydney to Islamic extremism, but rather to question the continuing tolerance for protests in London and around the world calling for “intifada,” which she equates with “violence on our streets.”

She wrote: “Sadly, the type of attack seen in Sydney yesterday is exactly the kind of violence the previous intifada involved and I hope to avoid in future, but in my opinion ignoring the problem won’t make it go away.

“Attacks on Jews have recently become repackaged as ‘resistance’ in some circles, and we should in one voice condemn all acts of violence, whoever the perpetrators and whoever the victims.

“I am sorry if this message was misunderstood, that was not my intention.”

Despite her clarification, she continued to face criticism online, including accusations that her response was “insufficient” and she was engaging in “self-centered self-victimization” in an attempt to evade responsibility.

Honestly, everyone has had enough @Channel4. This is not an apology. It is self-centred, self victimisation to get away from addressing her islamophobia. She's posts diagusting, racist content and uses her identity to escape responsibility, this isn't good enough. https://t.co/u1dCJ2vkzC

— lachimalola⁷ (@Drrrivvveee) April 15, 2024

On Saturday, Joel Cauchi attacked a number of people, mostly women, at the Westfield Bondi Junction mall killing five women and a man. Several others, including a baby girl, were injured before Cauchi was shot dead by police. Australian authorities have said the attack was not related to terrorism and most likely linked to the attacker’s mental health issues.