Russia’s use of the Hamadan airfield in western Iran for launching strikes against terrorist targets in Syria is obviously not violating the UN Security Council’s resolutions concerning Iran, Chairman of the Russian Federation Council’s Committee on Foreign Affairs Konstantin Kosachev said August 17, Sputnik reported.
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The strikes came after Russian Federation on Tuesday began flying warplanes from an Iranian airbase in a major switch in its bombing campaign in Syria, prompting concern from the United States.
On Tuesday, Russian long-range Tu-22M3 bombers carried out the first airstrikes against terrorist targets in Syria operating from Hamadan airfield in northwestern Iran.
The ministry said five large warehouses with weapons, ammunition, fuel and lubricants, three command posts and several training camps were destroyed and a significant number of terrorists were killed.
The US Department of State said shortly afterwards that it was looking into whether Russia’s actions were in compliance with the UN Security Council’s Resolution 2231.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry discussed the situation in Syria over the phone on Tuesday.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in Moscow on Wednesday that Russian Air Force uses its fighter jets to take part in the counter-terrorism operation in Syria and there has been no supply, sale or transfer of fighter jets to Iran. In the case we are discussing, there were no supply, sale or transfer of combat jets to Iran.
Defense consultancy IHS Jane’s said Wednesday that Moscow’s use of the Mozdok airbase in southern Russian Federation, from where long-range bombers had been flying their Syria raids, may have been disrupted by apparent expansion works.
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The Syrian conflict has killed at least 260,000 people, according to the United Nations, and more than half of Syria’s pre-war population of 22.4 million has been internally displaced or fled overseas.
