Skip to content

Iran's migrants trying to get from Serbia to the UK

In November there was a spike in the number of migrants trying to cross the English channel in small inflatable dinghies.

Unusually, many of those rescued by coastguards said that they were from Iran. It's left many asking why Iran, and why now?

The answer lies thousands of miles away in Serbia, and a visa-free travel scheme that many are believed to have taken advantage of.

The BBC visited some of those affected in Serbia's capital, Belgrade.

Reporter: Rana Rahimpour Producers: Mohamed Madi, Stefan Veselinovic

10 December 2018

Explore More

With some travel disruption, children and dogs have been enjoying the cold weather

Watch: Scotland under a blanket of snow from Storm Bert

Science & Environment

BBC Middle East correspondent Hugo Bachega at scene of destroyed building in Beirut, Lebanon

Beirut strike 'so powerful it was felt across the city'

BBC Scotland's Judith Ralston says snow will extend into northern Scotland over the next few hours.

The latest weather forecast for Scotland as Storm Bert hits

BBC News

One-minute World News

90s boy band Damage in a black and white promotional photo

Watch: Boy band Damage on their journey to stardom

Phone footage of a skate surfacing out of grey waves to a rigid inflatable boat.ttack the side of a inflatable

Watch the moment a skate attacks a fisherman's boat off Shetland

NE, Orkney & Shetland

People in high-vis jackets walk next to a car submerged in floods on the left of a split screen with a snowy road on the right

Atmospheric river dumps snow and record rain on California

Science & Environment

Smoke billows from house fire.

Video shows flames and thick smoke at house fire

A view from an EasyJet plane window as it flies above and to the side of an erupting volcano

Plane passengers film Iceland volcano lava from above

BBC News

East of England weather forecast

Composite image of Sir Keir Starmer and BBC Radio WM presenter Kath Stanczyszyn, who is pictured wearing headphones and speaking into a purple microphone

Will there be a Birmingham pub bombings inquiry?

Birmingham & Black Country

A huge Christmas tree on a flatbed lorry in font of the US Capitol building

US Capitol Christmas tree arrives in DC

Blurred still image from video clips shows people being taken out of a car

Migrants asked to rate trip in smuggler review videos

John Darvall sat on the left of a composite image, in a purple studio with a microphone in front of him. On the right is Keir Starmer with grey hair and brown glasses.

PM challenged on West's councils facing bankruptcy

BBC Newsline

BBC Newsline signed summary

BBC Scotland weather presenter Christopher Blanchett in front of a weather map of Scotland showing snow warnings.

Watch the Storm Bert weather forecast for Scotland

Mural of The Smiths bassist Andy Rourke unveiled

Parts of West Burton A power station being demolished

Power station demolition captured by drone

Man clinging to a cliff being rescued

Moment person clinging to cliff is rescued by helicopter

A woman in a hospital gown grins on the left and a monitor lit up with lungs is on the right of a split screen.

Woman gets first double lung transplant done by robot

Adam Kassak (on the left) and Ali Baydoun smile at the camera with their arms crossed in front of their chests

Beirut: Meet the TikTokers filming destroyed homes

In Beirut, two TikTokers are filming the damage caused by Israeli air strikes for families who have fled.

Damaged building in Iran

Strikes on Tehran another big escalation - Jeremy Bowen

Israel has launched air strikes on Iran, with blasts heard in the capital Tehran.

Projectiles in sky over Tehran

Projectiles seen in sky over Tehran

Israel says it has conducted "precise strikes on military targets" in Iran.

Daniel Hagari

Watch: Israeli military announces strikes in Iran

Rear Adm Daniel Hagari says the strikes are in response to Iran "relentlessly attacking" Israel.

Dust tornado

Dust tornado and lightning captured on camera in UAE

Drivers near the city of Sharjah stopped their cars to watch the spiralling spectacle.

The BBC's Orla Guerin is taken on a tour of Al Sahel Hospital in Beirut

BBC tours hospital Israel says sits above millions in Hezbollah gold

The BBC’s Orla Guerin is taken on a tour of Al Sahel Hospital in Beirut.

Yahya Sinwar

BBC Verify analyses footage of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar's killing

The BBC's analysis editor Ros Atkins looks at footage said to show Yahya Sinwar's final moments.

A person sitting in an armchair outlined in red in IDF video

IDF drone footage 'shows Sinwar in final moments'

Drone footage released by the Israeli military on Thursday is said to show Sinwar in the moments before he was killed.

Benjamin Netanyahu

Netanyahu says focus on hostages after Sinwar death

Sinwar, who topped Israel's most-wanted list, was a key figure believed to have been behind the 7 October attacks.

BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner, in the BBC newsroom

What the death of Yahya Sinwar means for the Middle East

The Israel Defense Forces say it has killed the Hamas leader, the man seen as responsible for 7 October.

Hammoud and Khalid

‘I say bye to my kids, in case we don’t wake up’ – two Gazans film a year under attack by Israel

Over the past year, Aya and Khalid have been filming their lives for a BBC documentary.

BBC Verify analyses footage from Gaza strikes

The BBC's Nick Eardley examines what we know about the latest Israeli strikes on Gaza.

Nick Eardley from BBC Verify

BBC Verify examines air strike patterns in Beirut

Lebanon's health ministry says 22 people have died and more than 117 were left wounded after air strikes in central Beirut.

A composite image showing a strike and Nick Eardley talking to camera

BBC Verify examines footage revealing scale of damage in Lebanon

BBC Verify’s Nick Eardley analyses videos that reveal the extent of damage caused by Israeli strikes.

A woman sitting in a garden

How do young Palestinians and Israelis see their future?

Jeremy Bowen speaks to young Palestinians and Israelis about the ongoing war and how they see the future.

The BBC's Rushdi Abualouf

‘Daily challenge to get stories out of Gaza’ - BBC's Rushdi Abualouf

The BBC's Rushdi Abualouf sheds light on the challenges of reporting the war from inside and outside of Gaza.

Two people hug at an event remembering victims of Hamas's 7 October attack on Israel

Israel remembers victims of 7 October attack a year on

Events have taken place across Israel to commemorate the victims of Hamas's attack.

Hadas Kalderon

Israeli hostage family's fight 'not over' one year on

On the one-year anniversary of the 7 October Hamas attacks in Israel, survivor Hadas Kalderon speaks to the BBC.

Explosion in Beirut, Lebanon

Powerful explosion rocks Beirut overnight

Multiple blasts shake the southern suburbs of Lebanon's capital amid Israeli air strikes.

Hugo Bachega in Beirut

'Bags of sweets amid rubble of flattened Beirut building'

The BBC's Hugo Bachega reports from the scene of an overnight Israeli strike in Lebanon.