Russia’s use of an Iranian base heralds even more intense Russian bombardment inside Syria, where Moscow has already been accused of indiscriminate attacks that have killed many civilians.
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“There is no reason to suspect Russian Federation of violating UN Security Council resolution 2231 [on the sale and transfer of arms to Iran]”, Lavrov told a news conference on Wednesday.
Russia, he said, is carrying out the campaign in accordance with two UN Security Council resolutions, whereas the USA “is illegally arming and training terrorists with U.S. taxpayer dollars in brazen defiance of global law, attacking a sovereign state via a proxy war”.
The strikes came after Russian Federation on Tuesday began flying warplanes from an Iranian airbase in a major switch in its bombing campaign in Syria, prompting concern from the United States.
A top Iranian lawmaker confirmed on Wednesday that Russian warplanes are using an airbase on its territory, as Moscow announced it conducted another airstrike in Syria with jets that took off from Iran.
Russia’s decision to launch raids from Iran puts it firmly in the camp of Shiite forces in the Mideast, Rubin said, something Moscow may not realize carries long-term consequences.
Russia is trying to coordinate with the U.S. in Syria and has denied any violation of United Nations resolutions in its use of an Iran air base, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday.
US Secretary of States John Kerry, right, gestures beside Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a news conference in Munich, southern Germany, on February 12, 2016.
“These warplanes with the consent of Iran are being used by the Russian air force to participate in an anti-terrorism operation in Syria at the request of the legal Syrian authorities”, Lavrov said. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said in a statement issued Wednesday in response to the State Department’s comments. The bombers would have had to have flown in from Russian Federation otherwise, though Russian Federation often conducts military operations from bases in Syria itself.
“Long-range Tu-22M3 bombers and Su-34 attack bombers took off with full combat load from Hamadan airport in Iran and delivered air strikes at facilities of terrorist groupings Islamic State and Al-Nusra Front (banned in Russia) in the provinces of Aleppo, Deir-ez-Zor and Idlib”, it said.
Russian Federation said its planes targeted Islamic State militants and the al-Qaeda-linked group formerly known as the Nusra Front in Aleppo, as well as in Deir el-Zour and Idlib, destroying five major ammunition depots, training camps and three command posts.
“This is the first time after World War II that such a facility is put at the disposal of a foreign country”, said Mr. Falahatpisheh, adding that Russian Federation had been both a friend and foe of Iran in the past.
Iran is acting “within the framework of worldwide regulations” and “does not accept the Americans’ view”, he said.
He specified that the jets were using the Nojeh airbase in Iran’s western Hamadan province to refuel.
Moscow has close ties with Iran which in turn is a firm ally of President Bashar al-Assad and has provided the Syrian president with significant military and financial support.
For those strikes, “the Russians did notify the coalition” under the memorandum of understanding on flight safety over Syria that was agreed to by the two countries, Garver said.
SANA says the rockets struck the Salaheddine residential district in the northern city on Wednesday.
Syrian government troops and opposition fighters are now locked in a battle for the strategic city of Aleppo, where residents face a growing humanitarian crisis. Russian Federation has grown impatient, with top officials several times suggesting an imminent deal, only to have American officials counter that the sides weren’t close.
Fighting for control of Aleppo, split between its government-held west and rebel-held eastern neighborhoods, has intensified in recent weeks causing hundreds of deaths and depriving many civilians of power, water and vital supplies.
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The resolution governs some military interactions between Iran and other countries, including the supply, sale or transfer of military technologies or the provision of training or financial assistance related to the acquisition of new technologies.
