The U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner informed on the fact that Russian Federation uses Iranian airbase for Syria airstrikes, added this use of the Iranian airbase is “unfortunate, but not surprising or unexpected”.
Advertisement
In the same context, a reliable Russian military source said that setting up a Russian military base in Iran will permit targeting the sites quickly, adding that Russian airstrikes foiled an attack by fighters near Aleppo.
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.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier any U.S. dismay over Moscow’s military co-operation with Iran should not distract from efforts to realise the U.S. -Russia deal on coordinating action in Syria and securing a ceasefire.
In Syria, Moscow began its extensive air operations on September 30, 2015, caused criticism of global community.
Iran allowing Russian warplanes to take off from its territory to bomb targets in Syria was an unprecedented move, underscoring the deepening cooperation between two powerhouses heavily invested in the Syrian civil war.
After a almost three-week siege, rebels took Ramussa on August 6, linking up with opposition-held neighbourhoods, in a major blow to fighters loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.
That history will likely make any long-term Russian use of Iranian military bases unpalatable to the Iranian public, said Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon official who is now a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.
Also Wednesday, rebel rocket rounds killed 10 civilians and wounded nine in a government-controlled district of the city of Aleppo, Syria’s state-run SANA news agency said.
The move also will not go unnoticed by Iran’s Sunni-ruled neighbors, which fall in the USA sphere of influence in the Middle East and host American military personnel. 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. Although the United Nations hopes to hold a fresh round of peace in coming weeks concerning the crises in Syria, Moscow’s bombing campaign continues to strengthen President Bashar Assad’s government while Russia’s influence grows in the Middle East with the Iranian deployment.
Head of the Center for Strategic Studies affiliated to the Expediency Council Ali Akbar Velayati echoed Shamkhani Wednesday, saying that “Iran and Russian Federation enhanced level of cooperation in line with worldwide campaign against terrorism”, according to IRNA.
“Not since the revolution in 1979 has Iran allowed a foreign power to conduct military operations from its territory”. Late a year ago there were reports about Russian planes flying out of Iran but according to US officials, Tuesday’s decision came as a surprise.
Asked how much advance notice the Russians gave the U.S., Garver said, “we did know in time” to maintain safety of flight.
Advertisement
The announcement from Russian Federation marks the first significant stationing of its troops in Iran since World War II. One question that reinforces the discussion of Moscow message-sending to Washington is the overall advantage of using Iranian airfields when Russian Federation has facilities for its air force inside of Syria.
