zorobabel wrote: eehnie wrote: zorobabel wrote:
Yikes, how embarrassing.
Embarrassing what?
Because Iran's account of the issue completely conflicts with Russia's.
provide a source then? They were mad about apparent mention of the base in the media, but that was it.
This is what Iran is saying:
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/iran-says-russian-use-air-base-syria-strikes-now/
(Reuters) Iran said on Monday that Russia has stopped using an Iranian air base for strikes in Syria, a week after Moscow announced that its fighter bombers had flown from a base in Iran to hit targets in Syria.
“Russia has no base in Iran and is not stationed here. They did this (operation) and it is finished for now,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency.
Long-range Russian Tupolev-22M3 bombers and Sukhoi-34 fighter bombers used Nojeh air base, near the city of Hamedan, in north-west Iran to launch the air strikes last week, in a move which underscored Moscow’s increasingly close ties with Tehran.
But the deployment – the first time a foreign power has used an Iranian base since World War Two – triggered criticism from some Iranian parliamentarians who said it breached the Islamic Republic’s constitution.
Iranian Defence Minister Hossein Dehghan dismissed that criticism on Sunday, but also chided Moscow for publicising the move, describing it as showing off and a “betrayal of trust.”
“We have not given any military base to the Russians and they are not here to stay,” Dehghan was quoted as saying by the Fars news agency.
He said there has been “no written agreement” between the two countries and the “operational cooperation” was temporary and limited to refuelling.
As I said above, they were pissed about the mention of it in media (dunno why really, probably because it sparked outrage by some ministers in Iran which then the authorities had to deal with), but they said that it is over for now. What Russia says falls in line as well. There is probably some kind of informal agreement about Russia using the base again.
RT article has more:
https://www.rt.com/news/356757-russian-planes-back-iran/
He added that further deployments of the Russian military to Iran “would be based on mutual agreements on fighting terrorism and depending on the developments in Syria.”
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman confirmed the outcome.
“They did this [operation] and it is finished for now," Bahram Qasemi was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency.
Another article where they quote Iran's foreign minister:
http://tass.com/defense/895284
TEHRAN, August 22. /TASS/. Russia has taken a timeout from using the Iranian military base Shahid Nojeh, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi announced at a Monday news briefing in Tehran.
"Russia has stopped using the air force base for now," he declared, adding there had been no special arrangement between Tehran and Moscow on using the facility.
"We have a number of agreements with Russia on conducting joint (anti-terrorist) operations. One such agreement envisages the possibility that Iran may grant Russia use of its airspace and infrastructures to fight terrorism in Syria," he affirmed, noting that Tehran’s relations with Moscow were booming over recent years, describing them as strategic.
"Russia and Iran stand closely on the issue of fighting terrorism and the Islamic State (terrorist group outlawed in Russia)," Qasemi stated. "The situation in the region is a very sensitive one. Iran’s own security depends on it and it is of paramount importance to us."
Last week for the first time ever, Russia’s military used an airfield in Iran to attack terrorists in Syria. Long-range bombers, namely Tupolev-22M3 and Sukhoi-34 front-line bombers participated in the raid. Earlier, these aircraft flew sorties from airdromes in Russia and front-line bombers, from the Hmeymim base in Syria.
So please, do not make stuff up.