Reports began circulating last week that Russia’s Tupolev-22M3 bombers and military transport planes have used Iran’s Nojeh airbase for airstrikes against terrorist groups in Syria. Three other semi-official news agencies quoted Larijani as saying the Russian flights from the air base, located about 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of the city of Hamedan, “have not stopped”.
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Meanwhile, Russia’s aerial support for the Syrian forces since September 2015 has given fresh impetus to the fight against the foreign-backed terrorists.
Moscow did not comment publicly on Monday on Tehran’s comments.
“The only new thing is the public announcement of it by the Russians”, he said in an interview with the conservative Iranian Tasnim news agency. The Kremlin says its attacks on militants in Syria are necessary because IS is relying on thousands of fighters who come from Central Asia and pose a threat to Russian security.
The move was the first of its kind in modern history – the first time a major world power had the privilege of using an Iranian airbase following the Islamic Revolution – and a sign that Russian Federation and Iran were eager to expand their cooperation to fight Sunni anti-Assad rebels in Syria.
The Associated Press notes the announcement closely followed criticism from Iran condemning Russian officials for making their cooperation public.
The U.S. State Department on August 22 said that “it’s not clear” that Russian warplanes have stopped using an Iranian air base to carry out bombing runs in Syria.
BBC adds that there was reportedly resistance from Iranian “hard-liners” in the nation’s legislature to allowing Russian military assets to use the base, noting that the legislature must approve such uses as per the nation’s Constitution.
“It hasn’t stopped”, he said, adding that Teheran and Moscow were united in their “fight against terrorism”.
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Supporting the Syrian regime “is a regional strategic goal for both Tehran and Moscow and this strategy would be greater than these disaccords”, said Mohsen Milani an Iranian scholar at the University of South Florida.
