“Russia’s use of an Iranian base represents a turning point in Russia’s relations in the Middle East”.
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On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov escalated the war of words, denying that operating from Iran violated the resolution.
US State Department spokesman Mark Toner had previously said Russian Federation might be violating the resolution by using Iranian territory to launch airstrikes in Syria.
Russian Federation also gave advance notice to the U.S. -led coalition battling ISIL in Syria and Iraq, complying with the terms of a safety agreement meant to avoid an accidental clash in the skies, said U.S. Army Col. Christopher Garver, a Baghdad-based spokesman for the U.S. -led coalition. On Wednesday, Russia’s Defense Ministry said another wave of bombers had departed from Iran, striking targets in eastern Syria.
However, he added that American officials were “not there yet” on cooperation against ISIS with Moscow, citing the Russians’ tendency to bomb “moderate” Syrian opposition forces supported by the U.S.
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 officials weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter and demanded anonymity.
It is virtually unheard of in Iran’s recent history to allow a foreign power to use one of its bases to stage attacks.
Moscow and Tehran have both deployed forces to Syria in support of Bashar al-Assad’s embattled regime.
“This move is a signal not only to the USA and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, but also to Saudi Arabia and the gulf states and other Sunni countries”, he said. On Tuesday, almost 20 civilians were reported killed in airstrikes in eastern districts of Aleppo, Syria’s largest city and its former commercial center which has become the focal point of the country’s ruinous civil war.
But this could antagonise the United States and its western allies as the Russian move makes the Syrian crisis even more hard.
“The fight for territory and resources is being undertaken through indiscriminate attacks on residential areas, including through the use of barrel bombs, killing hundreds of civilians, including dozens of children”, Ban said in the report.
Syrian rebels and opposition activists reacted angrily to the news.
For Iran, allowing Russian Federation to launch strikes from inside the country is likely to prove unpopular. “It is just too poisonous for the Obama administration”.
Mr. Phillips said the actions taken against Mr. Assad have proved to be “too little, too late”.
In his remarks, reported by the state-run IRNA news agency, Larijani did not directly discuss the strikes, though he said Iran has “cooperated with Russian Federation, as it is our ally on regional issues, especially on Syrian issues”.
At a minimum, the shift this week suggests growing cooperation between Moscow and Tehran after last year’s global accord to block Iran from building nuclear weapons.
The statement said, “On August 16, 2016, Tu-22M3 long-range bombers and Su-34 tactical bombers took off from the “Hamedan” airbase (the Islamic Republic of Iran) and carried out a concentrated airstrike on objects of the ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist groupings in the provinces of Aleppo, Deir ez-Zor and Idlib”.
The deployment appeared to stem from political and strategic objectives, rather than military needs.
A top Russian lawmaker, Adm. Vladimir Komoyedov, said Russia’s decision to use a base in Iran will help to cut costs, which is “paramount right now”.
The nearest air base to Hamedan is Shahid Nojeh, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of the city. Russian military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer called Moscow’s transfer of heavy bomber planes to Iran a “major move”.
On Sept. 30, when global criticism of the Russian military buildup in Syria was mounting, Moscow began extensive air operations in the country, declaring that it was fighting terrorism.Turkey and Western powers, for their part, accused Russia of striking at moderate Syrian opposition groups rather than terrorist targets.
The text prohibits the use of combat aircraft “for the use in or benefit of Iran”.
Iran and Russian Federation are the two staunchest backers of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, with Tehran commanding thousands of troops fighting for him on the ground while Russian Federation provides airpower.
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Russian Federation on Wednesday launched warplanes from Iran for the second time to bomb the Islamic State group in Syria, denying the action violated a UN Security Council resolution.
