Elon Musk says he is studying Iran’s ancient history

"We have to win the peace," Starmer said. "And that's what we must do now. Because it can't be peace that rewards the aggressor or that gives encouragement to regimes like Iran. We agree history must be on the side of the peacemaker, not the invader. So the stakes, they couldn't be higher."

Trump, speaking alongside Starmer, said it was necessary to secure a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.

The visit comes ahead of Trump's meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky slated for Friday.

On Sunday, Zelensky said Russia launched 267 attack drones on Ukraine, marking the largest single assault since the use of Iranian-made projectiles began following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"On the eve of the third anniversary of the full-scale war, Russia launched 267 attack drones against Ukraine—the largest attack since Iranian drones began striking Ukrainian cities and villages," he said in a post on X.

On Wednesday, the US Treasury levied sanctions on six entities in Hong Kong and mainland China it said facilitate the acquisition of parts for armed drones produced by Iran, as part of Washington's "maximum pressure" campaign on Tehran.

“Iran continues to try to find new ways to procure the key components it needs to bolster its UAV weapons program through new front companies and third-country suppliers,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement on Wednesday, referring to unmanned aerial vehicles.

The US state department said Washington was determined to thwart the program.

"These programs produce missiles and drones that Iran uses against our allies and exports to its terror proxy groups and Russia," it said in a statement.

Iranian drones have repeatedly been deployed in attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure and other civilian targets. The Shahed 136 drone is typically launched alongside cruise and ballistic missile attacks to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses.

Xuanyu Harry Pang, 38, of North Chicago, pleaded guilty on Nov. 5, 2024, to conspiracy and attempted destruction of national defense facilities, but his case was unsealed on Thursday.

"In the summer of 2021, Pang communicated with an individual in Colombia about potentially assisting with a plan involving Iranian actors to conduct an attack against the United States to avenge the death of Qasem Soleimani ," the US Justice Department said in a press release.

Soleimani, a commander of IRGC's Quds Force was killed in a US drone strike near Baghdad International Airport in January 2020, a move ordered by US President Donald Trump.

An undercover FBI employee, posing as an affiliate of the IRGC's foreign operations arm the Quds Force, later engaged with the Colombian contact, who connected the agent to Pang.

While stationed at Naval Station Great Lakes, Pang discussed possible attack targets, including the base and other locations in the Chicago area.

Pang met with an undercover FBI operative three times in late 2022, including in downtown Chicago and Lake Bluff, Illinois. During these meetings, he provided images and videos of the naval base, US military uniforms, and a cell phone that could serve as a test detonator.

Pang remains in custody and faces up to 20 years in prison. His sentencing date has not been set.

A total of 108,138 people claimed asylum, marking an 18% increase from the previous year and surpassing a record set in 2002.

Iranian nationals ranked third in asylum claims in the UK in 2024 with 8,099 claims. Pakistan had the highest number of claims with 10,542, followed by Afghanistan with 8,508.

A further analysis of the data suggests a notable increase in asylum applications from Iranians, particularly in 2022, with the highest surge occurring in Q4 of that year, with 3,686 applications.

100%

The spike likely may reflect growing migration pressures driven by the nationwide protests and state repression on demonstrations following the death in morality police custody of Mahsa Amini in September 2022.

The nationwide protest movement dubbed the Woman Life Freedom movement was met with increasingly violent government crackdowns, prompting many Iranians to seek asylum abroad.

During the protests, security forces killed at least 550 protesters, including children, and imprisoned over 20,000 people.

From Q1 2023 onwards, while there was some fluctuation but asylum applications remained relatively high at consistently above 1,500 per quarter for non-unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) and over 100 for UASC.

The continued upward trend through Q3 and Q4 of 2024 shows sustained asylum-seeking activity, though the surge in Q4 2022 remains the most significant increase in recent years.

However, despite the rise in applications, the number of decisions granting protection has not kept pace. Of 3,686 applications made by Iranians in Q2 2024, only 1,324 were granted protection.

100%

The highest number of grants occurred in Q3 of 2023, when 4,647 Iranians were granted protection.

This disparity between grants of protection compared to applications suggests the lengthy immigration processing times are contributing to a backlog.

ISNA reported that Iran and Brazil reached the agreement during a meeting between Deputy Central Bank Governor Asghar Abolhasani and Tatiana Rosito, Brazil's Secretary for International Affairs at the Ministry of Finance, held at a BRICS meeting in South Africa.

The nature of the agreement, whether written or a memorandum of understanding, was not specified.

Both sides highlighted the potential for increased trade and pointed to the need for leveraging BRICS mechanisms to enhance banking and financial ties.

Iran also held separate talks with Russia, India, South Africa, and the UAE, advocating for expanded financial collaboration within the BRICS bloc.

Last January, Iran officially became a member of the China-led BRICS economic organization, as it seeks to overcome the impact of US sanctions and overcome it isolation.

"Iran and Russia have appropriate capacities to strengthen cooperation with each other, and we are determined to strengthen the interactions between Tehran and Moscow," Pezeshkian said.

"Iran and Russia have similar views on regional issues and seek to strengthen their regional and international cooperation", he added.

Moscow was dealt a boost this month as Washington under Trump emphasized the swift ending of the war Ukraine and restoration of bilateral ties.

Tehran, mired in economic malaise, faces a trickier choice dealing with Trump, who has ruled out allowing Iran acquiring a nuclear bomb and said he wants a deal which Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has ruled out.

Pezeshkian also urged for expediting the implementation of agreements, especially a Comprehensive Strategic Agreement between the two countries.

Tehran and Moscow signed a long-term agreement in March 2001 which was initially set for a ten-year term but was extended twice, each time for five years. Despite prior discussions, similar promises to finalize a renewed treaty have remained unfulfilled.

Lavrov, who conveyed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s greetings to Pezeshkian, said: “Iran and Russia have many common interests in continuing effective regional cooperation with each other.”

In a press conference following separate discussions with Lavrov, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi ruled out direct negotiations with the United States over the country’s nuclear program.

"Regarding Iran's nuclear issue, we will move forward and coordinate our positions in cooperation with our friends in Russia and China," Araghchi said.

"Iran's position in the nuclear talks is completely clear, and we will not negotiate under pressure and sanctions. There is no possibility of direct negotiations between us and the US as long as maximum pressure is being applied in this manner," he added.

Tehran’s envoy to Moscow, Kazem Jalali, also said the discussions specifically covered the nuclear issue and joint approaches in the field.