Iran parliament pushes back on military for Russian base use

Bahram Ghasemi, spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry told reporters in Tehran that Russia’s “mission was a specific, authorised mission and it’s over for now”. Russian Tu-22M3 and Su-34 bombers flew on three occasions from the Iranian base to attack Islamic State targets and the former Nusra Front, now called Jabhat Fath al-Sham, in Syria’s Aleppo, Deir ez-Zor and Idlib provinces last week. Many still remember how Russian Federation, alongside Britain, invaded and occupied Iran during World War II to secure oil fields and Allied supply lines. Iran’s constitution bans the establishment of foreign military bases on Iranian soil.

For Russia’s part, its decision to use the Shahid Nojeh military airbase in western Iran underscores its calculation that bolstering its almost year-long overt military intervention – which began dramatically with Russia airstrikes launched from a base in the Syrian coastal town of Latakia – can help tip the battlefield in Assad’s favor.

The statement said, “Iran has no agreement with Russian Federation in this regard”.

Analysts have suggested Russia potentially leveraged Iran into allowing it to use the airfield over either economic or military interests, such as Tehran wanting to purchase Sukhoi-30 fighter jets or its deployment of Russian S-300 air defense missile systems.

Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani brought up the topic on Tuesday as lawmakers gathered in Tehran, a day after Iranian officials announced Russia’s use of the Shahid Nojeh Air Base has stopped for the time being.

The flights from Iranian territory started on August 16, significantly shortening flight-times for Russian warplanes and allowing them to carry increased firepower.

Until last week Russian Federation and Iran were the military mainstays of the overstretched and undermanned Syrian army.

Later on Monday, US officials said it was not clear whether Russian Federation had actually stopped using the base. “These planes did not leave (Monday) but on Thursday, in accordance with the land operations and not under pressure from any other country”, Shamkhani said on state television. “Iran and Russian Federation are allies in the fight against terrorism”, Larijani said.

Meanwhile, Iran appears as eager as Russian Federation to run the US out of the Mideast by helping to save the barbaric Assad regime.

“The Iranians don’t mind helping out quietly”.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denied that Moscow could be in breach of a ban on supply or transfer of warplanes to Iran without prior approval of the UN Security Council.

Iran allowing Russian Federation to house its bombers represents “a major strategic shift in the Middle East” that’s likely to frustrate United States efforts to contain Iran’s influence in the region, said analyst Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.