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.
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It is thought to be the first time Russian Federation has struck targets inside Syria from Iran since it launched a bombing campaign to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in September past year.
Long-range bombers Tupolev-22M3 and Sukhoi-34 fighter-bombers hit facilities of the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra (both outlawed in Russia) in Syria’s provinces Aleppo, Deir ez-Zor and Idlib.
State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the U.S. was looking into whether the move violated UN Security Council resolution 2231, which prohibits the supply, sale and transfer of combat aircraft to Iran.
Prior to Iranian Hamedan Airbase, Russian air forces used Syrian Khmeimim Airbase. He suggested Russia must have made Iran “an offer it could not refuse” perhaps involving military equipment like the Russian S-300 air defense missile systems that are being deployed in Iran.
While Russia has claimed that it is striking terrorist targets, US officials say it is mostly targeting the opposition, including those backed by the West.
“Discussion of the situation in Syria continued with a focus on the situation in Aleppo, where government forces are conducting a large-scale humanitarian operation with Russian support”, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on the Kerry-Lavrov phone call. “It’s more complex than that”, Toner told reporters.
The Russian foreign minister is rejecting allegations that Russia’s use of Iranian military bases for airstrikes in Syria violates any United Nations sanctions on Iran. Russia’s broader bombing campaign in Syria, which began a year ago, largely turned the war in favor of the Syrian government.
Amid the thawing ties, Russian Federation agreed past year to proceed with the stalled sale of its powerful S-300 surface-to-air missile defense system to Iran.
“Step by step, we are nearing an arrangement, I’m talking exclusively about Aleppo, that would allow us to find common ground and start fighting together for bringing peace to that territory”, he said in remarks carried by Rossiya 24 television.
Russian Federation had previously confirmed that its Tupolev-22 bombers had been flown out to Iran after the agreement had been signed. “It speaks to a continuation of a pattern we’ve seen of Russian Federation continuing to carry out airstrikes, now with Iran’s direct assistance. that predominantly target moderate Syrian opposition forces”.
It says they destroyed two command posts and two training camps.
Iran is acting “within the framework of global regulations” and “does not accept the Americans’ view”, he said.
“There is no reason to suspect Russian Federation of violating UN Security Council resolution 2231 [on the sale and transfer of arms to Iran]”, Lavrov told a news conference on Wednesday.
“It is quite surprising for the (Gulf) states because here we have the Kremlin and the Iranian leadership agreeing on allowing Moscow to use Iran as a forward-operating base”, Karasik said.
Chris Harmer, senior naval analyst for the Institute for the Study of War in Washington, said the basing of Russian planes in Iran represents a doubling down of support for the Syrian president by Tehran and Moscow.
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Moscow backs Syria’s government.
