Iran criticizes Russia for talking about airbase use

By Ahmet Dursun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Iran’s defense minister Monday criticized Russia for "showing off" by announcing how Russian jets had used an Iranian airbase to strike at positions in Syria.

Speaking on state-run TV, Hossein Dehghan said Russia had failed to respect confidentiality, describing Moscow's attitude as "ungentlemanly".

Dehghan denied that Iran had “reserved” its airbase in the western Hamedan region for Russia, saying that it would only use the base for a limited time in line with the need in Syria.

At a press conference in Tehran also Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said Russia will stop using the Iranian airbase for the time being.

Last week, Iran allowed Russia to use Hamedan Shahid Nojeh Airbase to launch airstrikes on Syria, the first time that Iran has allowed a foreign power to use its military bases since the 1979 revolution. But it said the use was not a permanent arrangement, but "limited cooperation".

Last Wednesday Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani initially denied that Tehran had permitted Russia to use the base, according to Iran's state-run IRNA news agency.

Later Larijani denied that the airbase was “reserved” for Russia, citing a law he said bans foreign presence on Iran’s military bases.

"Iran cooperates with Russia, as its ally, on regional issues like Syria. That cooperation does not mean that we have reserved our military base to Russia." Larijani said. "Iran has not reserved a military base to Russia or any foreign country."

Before using Hamedan Airbase, Russian forces had been using Khmeimim Airbase in Syria or its own bases in Russia.

Last week U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Washington was assessing whether by using the base Russia had violated UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which prohibits the supply, sale, or transfer of combat aircraft to Iran unless the council approves.

Toner reiterated that Russia's ongoing use of the airbase to strike targets in Syria "doesn't help" with getting a cessation of hostilities deal back on track in Syria -- especially in and around Aleppo, where civilians are targeted.

But Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday: "Russia’s using an Iranian airbase for striking Syria does not contradict UN Security Council resolutions."

Speaking to reporters, Lavrov rebuffed U.S. criticism, saying: “There is nothing to violate the UN Security Council. These fighter jets are joining operations in Syria with the approval of Iran.”

Since last September, Russia has bolstered its military assets in Syria’s coastal areas, generally relying on a Caspian Sea-Iran-Iraq air corridor. On Sept. 30, when international 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. Russia currently maintains Su-24s, Su-25s, and Su-30s at the airbase, which is controlled by the Bashar al-Assad regime of Syria, along with Mi-24 attack helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests – which erupted as part of the "Arab Spring" uprisings -- with unexpected ferocity. Since then, more than a quarter of a million people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced across the war-battered country, according to the UN.

The Syrian Center for Policy Research, however, put the death toll from the six-year conflict at more than 470,000 people.