Britain Sanctions Iran over Supply of Drones to Russia

This undated photograph released by the Ukrainian military's Strategic Communications Directorate shows the wreckage of what Kyiv has described as an Iranian Shahed drone downed near Kupiansk, Ukraine. (Ukrainian military's Strategic Communications Directorate via AP, File)
This undated photograph released by the Ukrainian military's Strategic Communications Directorate shows the wreckage of what Kyiv has described as an Iranian Shahed drone downed near Kupiansk, Ukraine. (Ukrainian military's Strategic Communications Directorate via AP, File)
TT
20

Britain Sanctions Iran over Supply of Drones to Russia

This undated photograph released by the Ukrainian military's Strategic Communications Directorate shows the wreckage of what Kyiv has described as an Iranian Shahed drone downed near Kupiansk, Ukraine. (Ukrainian military's Strategic Communications Directorate via AP, File)
This undated photograph released by the Ukrainian military's Strategic Communications Directorate shows the wreckage of what Kyiv has described as an Iranian Shahed drone downed near Kupiansk, Ukraine. (Ukrainian military's Strategic Communications Directorate via AP, File)

Britain on Thursday slapped sanctions on three Iranian military figures and a defense manufacturer for supplying Russia with drones to attack civilian and infrastructure targets in Ukraine.

Senior Iranian military officers Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, Seyed Hojjatollah Qureishi and Saeed Aghajani will be subject to an asset freeze and travel ban, Britain's foreign office said in a statement.

The three individuals were "personally responsible" for providing the drones used in strikes in Ukraine, it added.

"Iran’s support for Putin’s brutal and illegal war against Ukraine is deplorable," British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said. "This is clear evidence of Iran’s destabilizing role in global security."

Russia has launched dozens of "kamikaze" drones on Ukraine on hitting energy infrastructure and killing five people in the capital of Kyiv. Ukraine says they are Iranian-made Shahed-136 attack drones.

Tehran denies supplying the drones to Moscow and the Kremlin on Tuesday denied its forces had used Iranian drones to attack Ukraine. Washington says Iran's denial is a lie.

Britain will subject Shahed Aviation Industries, the Iranian manufacturer of the Shahed drones, to an asset freeze, the foreign office said.



IAEA Inspectors Visited Iranian Nuclear Sites Last Week, Foreign Ministry Says 

People walk on a street in Tehran, Iran, November 5, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
People walk on a street in Tehran, Iran, November 5, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
TT
20

IAEA Inspectors Visited Iranian Nuclear Sites Last Week, Foreign Ministry Says 

People walk on a street in Tehran, Iran, November 5, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
People walk on a street in Tehran, Iran, November 5, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

Inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) visited Iranian nuclear sites last week, Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday, according to state media, a week after the IAEA urged Iran to "seriously improve" cooperation.

The UN nuclear watchdog has carried out about a dozen inspections in Iran since hostilities with Israel in June, but last week highlighted it had not been given access to nuclear facilities such as Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, which were bombed by the United States.

"As long as we are a member of the NPT (Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons), we will abide by our commitments, and just last week, IAEA inspectors visited several nuclear facilities, including the Tehran Research Reactor," Esmaeil Baghaei said, without naming the others.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said last week that Iran must "seriously improve" cooperation with the United Nations inspectors to avoid heightening tensions with the West.

Iranian officials have blamed the IAEA for providing a justification for Israel's bombing in a 12-day war in June, which began the day after the IAEA board voted to declare Iran in violation of obligations under the NPT.

Baghaei's comments on Monday were in response to Grossi saying last week that Iran "cannot say 'I remain within the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons treaty’, and then not comply with obligations".


Kremlin Tells Reporters Lavrov Is Working Actively as Russia’s Foreign Minister Despite False Reports 

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speak during the 15th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the Convention Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia July 11, 2025. (AFP)
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speak during the 15th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the Convention Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia July 11, 2025. (AFP)
TT
20

Kremlin Tells Reporters Lavrov Is Working Actively as Russia’s Foreign Minister Despite False Reports 

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speak during the 15th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the Convention Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia July 11, 2025. (AFP)
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speak during the 15th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the Convention Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia July 11, 2025. (AFP)

The Kremlin said on Monday that Sergei Lavrov was working actively as Russia's foreign minister and suggested that people ignore Western media speculation that he may have fallen out of favor with President Vladimir Putin.

Lavrov, 75, a veteran Soviet-era diplomat known for his robust negotiating style, was absent from a big Kremlin meeting last week that he would typically attend, and Putin chose someone else to attend a G20 summit in South Africa later this month, a role that Lavrov has filled in the past.

The Kremlin on Friday dismissed speculation that Lavrov had fallen out of favor with Putin, however, after efforts to organize a summit between the Russian leader and US President Donald Trump were put on ice last month.


Iran Says US Claim on Plot to Kill Israeli Ambassador in Mexico 'Absurd'

The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. (Reuters)
The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. (Reuters)
TT
20

Iran Says US Claim on Plot to Kill Israeli Ambassador in Mexico 'Absurd'

The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. (Reuters)
The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. (Reuters)

Iran on Monday dismissed accusations by the United States that Tehran had attempted to kill the Israeli ambassador in Mexico, describing the claim as "absurd".

"We found this claim very ridiculous and absurd," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei during a weekly press briefing, adding that it was part of an attempt "to destroy Iran's friendly relations with other countries".

Following Washington's accusation on Friday of the assassination attempt, Israel's foreign ministry thanked Mexican authorities "for thwarting a terrorist network directed by Iran".

But Mexico's foreign ministry later said it had "received no information" on the alleged plot, and Iran's embassy in Mexico called it "a great big lie".

A US official said Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps' elite Quds Force initiated the plot in late 2024 and that it was disrupted earlier this year.

The alleged plot involved recruiting operatives through Iran's embassy in Venezuela, whose leftist president, Nicolas Maduro, maintains a tactical alliance with Tehran.

"The entire matter was fabricated," Baqaei said on Monday.

In mid-June, Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran, triggering a 12-day war during which the US briefly joined with strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

A ceasefire between Iran and Israel has been in place since June 24.