Russia: striking Syria from Iran does not violate sanctions

Russian Federation was one of six countries that negotiated a nuclear deal with Iran past year that gave it sanctions relief in exchange for new curbs on its nuclear program.

Russian Federation backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while the United States believes the Syrian leader must step down and is supporting some rebel groups which are fighting to unseat him.

State spokesman Matt Toner confirmed that the subject came up in a conversation between Secretary of State John KerryJohn KerryRussia launches second wave of airstrikes in Syria from Iran air base Dem pushes USA to stop aiding Saudi war in Yemen Bill Clinton: Claims Hillary threatened national security a “load of bull” MORE and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Later in the day, the State Department said Washington will examine if the use of the Iranian airbase violates United Nations resolutions.

“In the case we are discussing now, there was neither the sale, nor supply, nor transfer of warplanes to Iran”.

“It’s unfortunate but not surprising”, Toner told reporters.

“As I understand it, it’s not just supplying the Iranians certain weapons or certain offensive weaponry”.

The text prohibits the use of combat aircraft “for the use in or benefit of Iran”. Because Iran supports the regime of Assad in Syria with proxy fighters and because Russian airstrikes there are in support of Assad’s government, it is possible that the aircraft could be seen as being used for the “benefit of Iran”.

“In the United States, we’re still in some respects fighting the Cold War, even though we don’t call it that anymore”, the expert added. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

The setup at the Iranian air base occurred very quickly, perhaps overnight, said USA officials, who weren’t authorized to speak publicly on military matters and requested anonymity.

“We suggest the representatives of the State Department get out their pencils and trace the lines on the map to discover the fact that Syria is a separate sovereign state”, Gen. Konashenkov added.

Larijani later rejected reports claiming Iran had reserved its military base for Russian Federation recalling the existence of a law that bans all foreign presence on military bases.”Iran cooperates with Russian Federation, as its ally, on regional issues like Syria”. It said the strikes targeted ISIL as well as militants previously known as the Nusra Front in the Aleppo, Idlib and Deir al Zour provinces.

The two nations operate in close proximity, and the USA expects the deal will include a grounding of Assad’s air force in exchange for providing more information to the Russians about U.S. missions.

“We assured safety of flight as those bombers passed through the area and toward their target and then when they passed out again”, he said.

It was on August 18, 2011, that Mr. Obama first declared publicly that it was “time for the Syrian people to determine their own destiny, and we will continue to stand firmly on their side”.

But he said Russia is also concerned about appearing strong on other points of tension with the West, including Ukraine, where Russian-backed rebels are fighting the government in Kiev, and in the Baltics, where governments fear Russian destabilization.