Syria-Bound Russian Jets Using Iran Airspace

Iran has again allowed Russian planes to use its airspace during recent operations in Syria, a senior Iranian security official said on Saturday. In August, Russian aircraft for the first time used an Iranian air base to conduct strikes in Syria against terrorists. The Russian military said its fighters had completed their tasks, but left open the possibility of allowing the use of Hamedan base again, if circumstances warranted. Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, on Saturday told Fars News Agency, "Their [Russians'] use of Iran's airspace has continued because we have a fully strategic cooperation with Russia," Reuters reported  "In the recent cases, Russian fighter planes have only used Iran's airspace and had no refueling operations," he added. Shamkhani was commenting on media reports that Russia's Tupolev-22M long-range bombers had used Iranian airspace and a base in the country on their missions in Syria, where both Tehran and Moscow back President Bashar al-Assad's government.