The United States is looking at whether Russian Federation has violated a U.N. Security Council resolution on military dealings with Tehran by using an Iranian air base to carry out strikes inside Syria, the State Department said on Wednesday.
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed suggestions that Russia’s actions were violating U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231, which prohibits selling or transferring combat aircraft to Iran.
Larijani said. “Iran has not allocated a military base to Russia or any foreign countries.”Citing the Russian Defense Ministry, certain media outlets said Tuesday that TU-22M3 and SU-34 jets took flight from the Hamedan Airbase to strike targets in Syria.Before Hamedan Airbase, Russian forces had been using Khmeimim Airbase in Syria or in Russian territories”.
Russia, he said, is carrying out the campaign in accordance with two UN Security Council resolutions, whereas the U.S. “is illegally arming and training terrorists with USA taxpayer dollars in brazen defiance of worldwide law, attacking a sovereign state via a proxy war”.
Meanwhile, Russia’s defence ministry on Wednesday said that its war planes took off from an Iranian air base and conducted air strikes against IS (Daesh) in Syria’s Deir al-Zour province, on day two of the bombing campaign.
“As a result of the strikes five large arms depots were destroyed. a militant training camp. three command and control points. and a significant number of militants”, the ministry said in a statement.
Iran on Tuesday allowed Russian warplanes to take off from its territory to bomb targets in Syria – the first such occasion since Russia launched its operation in the war-torn Arab nation past year.
Key takeaway: Officials defended Russia’s use of an Iranian air base to launch airstrikes in Syria as constitutional.
Russian Federation backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while the United States believes the Syrian leader must step down and is supporting rebel groups that are fighting to unseat him.
Moscow brushed off American suggestions that its deployment of military aircraft to Iran violates a United Nations arms embargo on Wednesday, as Russian jets flew missions out of an Iranian base for a second consecutive day.
Iran has developed a “strategic view” on ties with Russian Federation, which naturally entails political, economic and defense collaboration, he added.
“Under Article 146 of the Constitution, the establishment of any foreign military base inside the country is banned, and it is worth mentioning that Iran has not given such a base to any country”, Larijani said.
The U.S. military said it was informed in advance about Russia’s bombing runs out of Iran, and the strikes “did not impact coalition operations in either Iraq or Syria during the time”.
NEWLY released footage shows Russian fighter jets dropping a barrage of bombs on ISIS strongholds in Syria claiming the lives of more than 150 fighters. A military partnership between Russian Federation and Iran would have the potential to solidify Russia’s foothold in the region, and shift the balance of power across the Middle East. The U.S.is also pressing Russian Federation to pressure Assad to negotiate a peaceful resolution of the five-plus-year war.
On Tuesday, Russian military aircraft used Hamadan for the first time to attack terrorists in Syria.
While Russia has claimed that it is striking terrorist targets, USA officials say it is mostly targeting the opposition, including those backed by the West.
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In recent weeks, the fight has focused on Aleppo, where some parts of the city are controlled by the regime and some by the anti-regime forces.
