Russia has been launching airstrikes in support of President Bashar Assad’s forces for almost a year, and Syrian and Russian warplanes have stepped up their raids in recent days in Aleppo and the rebel-held Idlib province nearby.
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“The only action taking place is that Russian fighters are allowed to use this base to refuel”, said Alaeddin Boroujerdi, chairman of parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission.
On Tuesday, Russian warplanes bombed targets in Syria having taken off from a base in Iran.
Mr Toner said the United States was still open to coordinating with Russian Federation in the fight against the Islamic State group, but “we have certain issues that we want resolved” before entering into such a deal.
The situation around Aleppo has grown so dire that a group of the city’s doctors wrote a letter to Mr. Obama last week begging for shipments of medical supplies. Last month, al-Nusra Front changed its name to Jabhat Fateh al-Sham and said it had severed a relationship with al-Qaeda.
Toner said the U.S.is assessing whether Russia’s move violated UN Security Council resolution 2231, which prohibits the supply, sale and transfer of combat aircraft to Iran.
The VKS seems to have started using the Tu-22M3M version of the bomber, a recent upgrade with newer, more precise navigation and sighting systems, for Syrian airstrikes. They insist that Iran is not handing over its Shahid Nojeh air base to Russian Federation.
One US military official said the Russians flew four Tu-22 Backfire bombers to the Iranian air base, along with a Russian cargo plane loaded with the munitions for the bombers, just hours before the missions.
The Tupolev-22M3 is “a fairly large, supersonic, long-range, strategic bomber”. Several conditions would apply, including Russian Federation committing to grounding Syria’s bombers and starting a long-sought political transition process.
Russian Federation has previously only flown raids out of its bases in Syria and Russian Federation. “This airfield in Iran is only 900km away”, Al Jazeera’s Rory Challands, reporting from Moscow, said. That should save Russian budget money and increase airstrike effectiveness at the same time.
He added that Russia’s decision was “unfortunate but not surprising or unexpected” Toner stated that the U.S. was still considering a deal with Russian Federation to fight IS (Daesh) in Syria but “we have certain issues that we want resolved” before entering into any such deal. Furthermore, Moscow gave short notice to Washington that Russian bombers would be flying from Iran over Iraq and Syria, thereby warning American aircraft in the vicinity to stay out of their way. To establish an operational base, they’d have to move hundreds of servicemen as well. Thousands of tonnes of munitions, fuel, [and] other equipment to operate heavy bombers from an Iranian base.
He told a parliamentary session: “We have not given a military base to anyone”.
“These jets are being used by Russian Air forces with Iranian consent within an anti-terrorist operation in Syria on the request of the legal Syrian government”. Russia, after a delay, has supplied Iran with its S-300 missile air defense system, evidence of a growing partnership that has helped turn the tide in Syria’s civil war and is testing USA influence in the Middle East.
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In Washington, a spokesman for the State Department said it is “still assessing” whether Russia’s use of Iranian bases violates the UN Security Council resolution, which was passed previous year.
