The Russian use of an Iranian airbase to launch airstrikes on targets in Syria has ended, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said Monday.
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He said Russia could seek Iranian consent to use the airbase again, but that no Russian troops were stationed within Iran, except for the airbase.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi did not give a reason for the move, saying only that the short-lived cooperation between Moscow and Tehran was never meant to be permanent, IRNA reported.
The operations from Iran’s air base started on August 16 as confirmed by the Russian Defence Ministry and Iranian officials. Mr. Dehghan added that there was “no written agreement” between Russian Federation and Iran, though last week he said that Russian Federation would be welcome to use the base “for as long as they need”.
Kerry said the “Syrian travesty” had gone on for too long and it was imperative that powers supporting the Syrian regime, – Russian Federation and Iran – and those backing the opposition – the United States and its Middle East partners – came together to end the fighting. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said further use of the Hamadan airfield for Russia’s anti-terrorist mission in Syria would be carried out in line with bilateral agreements with the Islamic republic and events on the ground.
“Russians are interested to show they are a superpower to guarantee their share in political future of Syria and, of course, there has been a kind of show-off and ungentlemanly (attitude) in this field”, he said.
“When we make Bavar-373 operational, we will not need to purchase another high-altitude and long-range air defense system”, he said.
Dehghan added that Iran still sees the Sukhoi-30 as “an appropriate fighting aircraft”, though he acknowledged the USA could seek to block any fighter jet deal.
“In the next days our team will meet this week, and depending on where those discussions go, it is very possible, very likely, that Foreign Minister (Sergei) Lavrov and I would meet”, he said.
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Meanwhile, fighting continued Monday in Syria. The government and the Kurdish movement have shared control of the city since the early years of the Syrian civil war.
