The operations have been authorized by Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and are based on a deal between Iran, Russia, Syria and Iraq, the head of parliament’s national security committee, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, said in comments carried by Iranian state news agency IRNA.
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The strikes by Russian warplanes on Tuesday follows an announcement that Moscow and Washington are nearing an agreement on Syria that would help defuse the situation in the besieged northern city of Aleppo, SOHR said in a statement.
Iran’s Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani has said Russian Federation does not have and will not have a permanent military base in Iran.
Toner said that beyond the question of Russia’s use of a base in Iran, its air strikes often “indiscriminately” hit civilian targets and moderate Syrian opposition groups.
Russian Federation and Iran are longtime allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Russian Federation has said that the use of Iranian air base to bomb Islamic State (Isis) militants and other jihadist groups by it did not violate a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution which prohibits supply of war planes to Tehran. On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov escalated the war of words, denying that operating from Iran violated the resolution.
“First of all, they should check the contents of United Nations resolution No. 2231”, Russian military spokesman Maj.
By allowing foreign troops on its soil for the first time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution – and Russians for the first time since World War II – Iran may be seeking to show it can end its isolation with or without the United States, analysts said. “The fact of the matter is it’s only exacerbating what is already a very risky situation”.
“In recent weeks, the rebels have gained some momentum, including the breaking of the government’s siege of Aleppo”. Russia’s broader bombing campaign in Syria, which began previous year, largely turned the war in favor of the Syrian government.
“I really think this is meant to be strategic messaging to the West that Iran and Russian Federation are now completely committed to the survival of the Assad regime”, he said. He said the Russians were using Iran’s Shahid Nojeh air base some 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Hamedan, a secluded base where Russian warplanes were detected landing late past year.
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“The message is: We are here for the long haul”, Mr. Harmer said.
