By using a base in Iran to carry out airstrikes against militants in Syria, analysts say Russian Federation is not only cutting flight time and saving fuel, but also deepening an alliance with Iran in joint support of the Syrian regime.
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Russia’s defense ministry said Tu-22M3 and Su-34 bombers took off on raids targeting ISIS and allied Nusra Front militants in Aleppo, Deir el-Zor and Idlib, destroying five major ammunition depots, training camps and three command posts.
During the summer of 2015 that preceded the start of Russia’s air campaign, the military of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had lost significant ground to anti-Assad rebels who were cutting deeper and deeper into government territory.
Last year, Russian Federation and Iran signed a military cooperation deal focused on training and fighting terrorism. The use of the Iranian air base shortens the length of the bombers’ sorties, which would potentially save the Russian Air Force time, fuel, and maintenance costs, although those savings could be at least partially offset by the expense of operating in a new country.
Russian Federation and Iran have strongly backed Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government throughout the five-and-a-half year civil war with rebel groups supported by the United States and allies such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
Iran is believed to have dispatched thousands of troops and auxiliaries to the war-torn country over the past few years. Russian Federation says its bombing campaign in Syria is focused on extremist groups but it has frequently struck other, including more moderate opposition groups fighting Assad’s forces.
Russian long-range bombers delivered airstrikes in Syria from a base in Mozdok, Russia, and had to cover a distance of about 2,000km to get to Syrian airspace.
Abadi told a press conference the same permission has been given to air forces of a separate US -led coalition against Islamic State flying to Syria from Kuwait.
Russian Federation also gave advanced notice to the US -led coalition battling Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, complying with the terms of a safety agreement meant to avoid an accidental clash in the skies, the USA military said.
“They informed us they were coming through” with Tu-22M3 long-range bombers, known as “Backfires” by North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, and Su-34 tactical bombers, Garver said.
The U.S. -led coalition fighting Islamic State in Iraq and Syria cleared the way for Russian bombers to pass through Iraq on their way to Syria via an airbase in Iran.
In practice, the U.S.is moving inexorably closer to accepting Russia, Iran, and Syria’s view of the civil war. Terrorist groups such as Daesh, as well as Jabhat Fatah al Sham (previously known as the al-Nusra Front), both outlawed in Russian Federation and a range of other states, are not part of the deal.
It was also a “PR move”, said Challands, meant to reinforce the notion that “there is still enough of a strategic connection between Russian Federation and Iran for them to work closely together in the field of war in Syria”.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, said heavy air strikes on Tuesday hit many targets in and around Aleppo and elsewhere in Syria, killing dozens.
He continued: “We are sure that, once Mr. Mark Toner passed [this] exam, he would not think the destruction of ISIS and Jabhat an-Nusra terrorists by Russian warplanes was ‘unfortunate'”.
Zakaria Malahifi, political officer of an Aleppo-based rebel group, Fastaqim, said he could not confirm if the newly deployed Russian bombers were in use, but said airstrikes on Aleppo had intensified in recent days. It is located in an opposition-held part of contested Aleppo province. The Syrian government wants to regain control of Aleppo, which would be a major victory for the regime since the conflict began five years ago. TU-22M3s have been used by Russian Federation in Syria, but they are too large for Russia’s air strips in the country, so they have flown from bases in Russian Federation.
Russian Federation gave the US military brief notice that its bombers were coming from a base in Iran for the first time to hit targets in Syria, an American military spokesman in Baghdad said Tuesday.
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Ali Samkhani, Iran’s National Security Council chief, said on Tuesday that Iran and Russian Federation are strategically cooperating in the fight against terrorism in Syria, and sharing facilities and capacities are only serving to that goal, Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
