Iran Says Russia Will Not Use Iranian Airbase Permanently

Russia does not have a permanent military base in Iran, the Iranian parliament’s spokesperson said on Wednesday, according to the Associated Press.

In an unprecedented move, Russian warplanes took off from an Iranian airbase on Tuesday striking three targets in Syria. The long-range bombers took off roughly 175 miles (280km) southwest of Tehran, near the Iranian city of Hamedan. Russia had never before used a Middle Eastern country as a base for its intervention in Syria.

The distance from Hamedan to targets in Syria is less than half the distance from Mozdok, the base in southern Russia previously used to launch strikes in Syria. Using the base in Iran would allow Russia to load more bombs and cut costs, according to Russian military experts.

Foreign militaries are not permitted to have permanent bases in Iran, according to the Islamic Republic’s constitution. The parliament’s spokesman, Ali Larijani, stressed that Russia is an ally in regional issues including Syria in a statement on the Russian state-run IRNA news agency

“We have good cooperation with Russia and we say it loud and clear,” Larijani said.

Russia and Iran are key allies of the government of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

U.S. military officials said they were notified of Russia’s new route in time to maintain the safety of airspace over Iraq and Syria. The Russian targets in northern and eastern Syria are close to the U.S.-led coalition’s aerial operations in the war-torn country.

“It’s not a lot of time, but it’s enough,” said Col. Christopher Garver, a U.S. military spokesman told reporters at the Pentagon. However, the U.S. State Department is “still trying to assess what exactly they’re doing,” the department’s spokesman Mark Toner said on Tuesday.

Syria and Russia Using Internationally Banned Weapons: HRW

ٍSyrian and Russian warplanes have used incendiary weapons at least 18 times since June, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday.

The use of incendiary weapons, which cause small but intense fires upon contact, is banned by the United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons.

“The Syrian government and Russia should immediately stop attacking civilian areas with incendiary weapons,” HRW arms director Steve Goose said in a statement.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has accused Russia of using incendiary weapons in the provinces of Idlib, Aleppo, Deir Ezzor and Raqqa.

Russia acknowledged that “improper use” of incendiary weapons in Syria had caused “significant humanitarian damage” in a letter to HRW in November.

Aleppo Heading Toward ‘Unprecedented’ Human Catastrophe, U.N. Chief Warns

The United States and Russia need to quickly reach a cease-fire deal in Aleppo, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.

In his latest monthly report on access for aid organizations, Ban warned the U.N. Security Council that Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, was headed toward an “unprecedented” humanitarian disaster.

“In Aleppo we risk seeing a humanitarian catastrophe unprecedented in the over five years of bloodshed and suffering in the Syrian conflict,” Ban said.

Intensified fighting between rebel and government forces in Aleppo has killed hundreds of people in recent weeks, and has left civilians on both sides of the divided city without running water or access to basic supplies.

“All parties to the conflict are failing to uphold their obligation to protect civilians,” Ban said.

On Tuesday, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov met Secretary of State John Kerry to discuss a cease-fire, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

Recommended Reads

• NPR: Conjoined Twins in Syria Evacuated from Rebel Stronghold
• BBC: Syria Aleppo Attacks: ‘The World Has Turned its Back on Syria’
• The Christian Science Monitor: How Off-the-Shelf Drones Are Changing War in Syria and Lebanon
• Al-Monitor: Will Road to Moscow Lead Anakara to Damascus?
• Foreign Policy: Present at the Creation