Russian Ministry of Defense stated that they used the Iranian airbase in the Western part of the country in Hamadan to make the strikes in Syria. According to the statement, Tupolev-22M3 long-range bombers and Sukhoi-34 strike fighters took off from Hamadan on Tuesday. According to the Russian ministry of Defense, targets were in Aleppo, Idlib and Deir al-Zour provinces. According to the local groups, around 27 civilians were killed in airstrikes. According to reports, it was the first time, when Russia uses a third country base to destroy targets in Syria, since the start of the Russian campaign in Syria.

Iran is a well-known ally of a Bashar Al-Assad and sends support to the regime forces since 2011. The US State Department stated that “Russia's use of an Iranian base was unfortunate but not surprising". According to the Steve Rosenberg reports “senior Russian and Iranian officials have discussed boosting their military co-operation”. Last week, Russia asked Iran and Iraq to allow Russian cruise missiles to fly through their airspace for attacks on terrorist targets in Syria.

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