Iran and Russia are negotiating on the return of the Russian Aerospace Forces to the Hamadan airbase for fighting against terrorists in Syria.
Photo: iikss.com
Russia is in talks with Iran to return to the Hamadan airbase to fight against the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group. Moreover, Moscow and Tehran are planning to make changes to the work of the Iranian military airfield, which will considerably affect its infrastructure, the Izvestiya newspaper reported, citing a source in the military-diplomatic circles.
“The preparation of the Hamadan airbase for basing the Russian Su-34 and Tu-22M3 bombers will take approximately one week and will need dozens of flights of the AN-124 and IL-76 military cargo planes,” the source said. “It is necessary to transfer and deploy ground drive air beacons and radio stations, fuel dispensers, starter units and other ground-based equipment. Systems of testing and preparation for flight avionics. But the most important thing is to create a stockpile of air-launched weapons, as well as to deliver special auto-loaders, required to load weapons on a board of the aircraft. Weather conditions at the airbase are good, so there is no need of special shelters for the warplanes. But if the task is set, pre-fabricated hangars will be ready in 1-2 weeks.”
Representatives of the Russian State Duma Committee on Defense also confirmed Moscow’s intention to return to the Iranian base in order to combat terrorism.
According to a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Public Chamber under the President of the Russian Federation, political scientist Sergey Voronin, Russia and Iran have been faced with a lack of understanding, which will be overcome soon.
“It is known that the Iranian side was dissatisfied with the fact that the information was made public in Moscow. According to Tehran, Iranian leaders had to announce this or the cooperation should be conducted behind closed doors, as before. Moreover, there is Iranian pro-Western elite, which fears the introduction of new sanctions by the US, which has already expressed concern about the tandem of Moscow and Tehran,” the expert said.
According to the political scientist, the Hamadan base is a strategic airbase for Russia: the flight time is reduced, aircraft can take more ammunition. From the strategic point of view, the Iranian airbase is a serious help in the fight against terrorism.
