Highlighting Iran’s smart policies and political might in arranging for the capacities of one of the world’s strongest air forces to be used is Syria, Shamkhani said concerted action by Iran, Russia and Syria in the recent military operations against terrorist groups has stifled the “delay strategy” of the USA that aimed to influence security developments in Syria.
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Last Tuesday, Russia’s defence ministry announced that Tupolev-22M3 long-range bombers and Sukhoi-34 strike fighters had used the Shahid Nojeh airbase near the eastern city of Hamedan to carry out air strikes on “terrorists” in Syria.
All Russian aircraft returned to their home airfields safely after a successful “combat mission”, the statement added.
Kurds remain a major point of disagreement among Moscow, Tehran, and Ankara despite new efforts from the three countries to increase the friendly relations, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi believes.
The about-face and the explanation for it from Iran’s foreign and defense ministries appeared to reflect deep-seated and long-standing suspicions of Russian Federation despite their tactical alliance in the Syria war.
According to some Iranian lawmakers, the move was a breach of the Iranian constitution which forbids “the establishment of any kind of foreign military base in Iran, even for peaceful purposes”. Russian Federation went public with that information that its Tupolev Tu-22 M3 bombers and Sukhoi Su-34 fighter-bombers are using the airbase in Hamadan to hit targets in Syria.
He said there has been “no written agreement” between the two countries and the “operational cooperation” was temporary and limited to refuelling.
Last week, Russian Federation announced it used the airfield some 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of the Iranian city of Hamedan.
Russian Federation has stopped using an Iranian airbase to bomb targets in Syria, both countries have said.
State Department spokesman Mark Toner reporters that Washington was closely monitoring the cooperation between Russian Federation and Iran and that “it’s not clear. whether their (Moscow’s) use of this air base has definitively stopped”. “They conducted it and they are gone now”, he was quoted by the official news agency as saying.
In an interview earlier, Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan criticized the Russian announcement regarding the use of Hamedan air base. The comments by Gen. Hossein Dehghan came after he chastised parliament this weekend for asking questions about Russian Federation using the base.
Iran unveiled its new missile defense system, Bavar 373, on Monday, a system created to intercept cruise missiles, drones, combat aircraft and ballistic missiles.
The statement by Russian Federation was the first time it had admitted it had sent Tu-22M3 strategic bombers and Su-34 fighter bombers in Iran.
The request coincides with naval exercises, which also started Monday, of the Caspian Flotilla in the “southwest part of the sea”, i.e. the part closest to Syria.
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The United States has said it would use its veto power in the U.N. Security Council to block the possible sales of the fighter jets to Iran.
