The U.S. F-16s were not able to complete their mission because of the interference by the Russian planes, officials said.
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CNN, which first reported the story, said it is still unclear where the missiles landed or if they caused any damage. The officials were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Russian Federation has dramatically stepped up its nine-day-old air war against foes of Assad, with heavy bombing by warplanes and cruise missile strikes from the Caspian Sea. It made no mention of any missiles going astray, suggesting that the operation was fully successful.
“It’s unclear where in Iran the missiles landed”.
“Monitoring by USA military and intelligence assets has concluded that at least four missiles crashed as they flew over Iran”. An earlier report by Fars on Wednesday quoted Iraj Saghafi, acting governor of Takab in northwestern Iran, saying an explosion heard in the region was “possibly related to work in a nearby rock quarry”.
Amid this news, NPR’s Michele Kelemen reports that Secretary of State John Kerry phoned Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to raise concerns about Russia’s military actions.
BEIRUT – Syria’s army announced a “vast offensive” on Thursday to wrest back territory from opposition groups as the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) voiced alarm at escalating Russian military activity in the war-torn country.
“We have not and will not agree to cooperate with Russian Federation as long as they continue to pursue this misguided strategy”, said U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter. Kerry told his counterpart that the USA was prepared to hold further discussions with Russian Federation to avoid misunderstandings while both countries undertake missions in Syrian airspace, according to Kirby.
The Russian defense ministry posted a graphic on its website on Wednesday showing 26 missiles overflying Iran and Iraq before striking inside Syria.
“The Russians have been firing a relatively new cruise missile called ‘Kaliber, ‘ using it for the first time in combat”.
Carter predicted Russia’s support for the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad, including the new joint offensive, “will have consequences for Russia itself”, adding: “I also expect that in coming days the Russians will begin to suffer casualties in Syria”.
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Two U.S. F-16s departed Incirlik air base in Turkey for an Islamic State stronghold in Syria when they diverted to avoid the collision, officials said.
