Middle East

Iran commits Hamadan airbase to Russia for ‘as long as needed’

Iran will allow the Russian air force to use its Hamadan airbase for as long as Moscow sees fit, the country’s Defense Minister said, after Russian planes used the Iranian airfield to bomb terrorists in Syria for the first time this week.

Russia can station its forces at the base “for as long as they need” to support their mission against terrorists in Syria, Brigade General Hossein Dehghansaid during a news conference on Saturday. Dehghan stressed that the base is solely to be used to launch airstrikes that “target gatherings, bases, and activities of terrorists.”The Minister also stressed that the cooperation with Russia is based on the Islamic Republic’s general policies and the approval of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran. Permission to deploy an undisclosed number of Tupolev Tu-22M3 supersonic long-range strategic bombers and Sukhoi Su-34 strike fighters was granted at the request of Syria the Minister pointed out.