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Iran: Russia Is No Longer Using Our Air Base For Strikes On Syria

“They did this (operation) and it is finished for now."
Reuters
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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 refueling.

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Before You Go

Inside Syria's War
(01 of30)
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Civil Defence members put out a fire that spread in an oil refinery in the town of Marat Numan in Idlib province, Syria March 10, 2016. (credit:Khalil Ashawi / Reuters)
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Members of pro-government forces stand in front of a destroyed building in Salma, a town in Latakia province, on Jan. 15, 2016. (credit:YOUSSEF KARWASHAN/AFP/Getty Images)
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Syrian security forces and residents gather near Sayyida Zeinab, a Shia Muslim shrine in Damascus, following a suicide bombing on Jan. 31, 2016. (credit:LOUAI BESHARA/AFP/Getty Images)
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Civil defense team members try to clear the debris of a building after a Russian airstrike on Anadan, a city in the Aleppo Governate, on Feb. 2, 2016. (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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People search through the debris of collapsed buildings following a Russian airstrike on in Atarib, a district in the Aleppo Governate, on Jan. 31, 2016. (credit:Ahmed Hasan Ubeyd/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
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Smoke rises in Anadan following Russian air strikes on Feb. 2, 2016. (credit:Muhammed Kurab/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
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Members of Syria's Civil Defense search for people who may have been buried under the wreckage following Russian airstrikes on Aleppo on Feb. 2, 2016. (credit:Muhammed Kurab/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
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People search through the wreckage of collapsed buildings following Russian airstrikes in Aleppo on Jan. 31, 2016. (credit:Ahmed Hasan Ubeyd/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
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Civil defense team members clear the debris of a building following airstrikes on residential areas in Anadan on Feb. 2, 2016. (credit:Beha El-Halebi/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
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Children carry Islamist flags as they pose with a man for photos during an anti-government protest in the rebel-controlled city of Idlib, Syria March 25, 2016. (credit:Ammar Abdullah / Reuters)
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A boy runs near damaged buildings in the town of Marat Numan in Idlib province, Syria, March 23, 2016. (credit:Khalil Ashawi / Reuters)
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Boys play near rubble of damaged buildings in the rebel-held besieged town of Douma, eastern Damascus suburb of Ghouta, Syria March 19, 2016. (credit:Bassam Khabieh / Reuters)
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A damaged building is pictured in the rebel-controlled area of Jobar, a suburb of Damascus, Syria March 23, 2016. (credit:Bassam Khabieh / Reuters)
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A member of forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad takes a position inside a palace complex on March 24, 2016. (credit:Sana Sana / Reuters)
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Residents take part in an anti-government protest against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in the town of Marat Numan in Idlib province, Syria March 24, 2016. (credit:Khalil Ashawi / Reuters)
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A girl walks near rubble of damaged buildings in the rebel held besieged town of Douma, eastern Damascus suburb of Ghouta, Syria March 19, 2016. (credit:Bassam Khabieh / Reuters)
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Rebel fighters from Jaysh al-Sunna stand in Tel Mamo village, in the southern countryside of Aleppo, Syria March 13, 2016. (credit:Khalil Ashawi / Reuters)
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A general view shows damaged buildings as seen from the rebel held Qaboun neighborhood of Damascus, Syria March 13, 2016. Picture taken March 13, 2016. (credit:Bassam Khabieh / Reuters)
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Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) fighters carry their weapons while riding on the back of a pick-up truck in Qamishli, Syria, March 11, 2016. (credit:Rodi Said / Reuters)
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A man reacts for the loss of family members after an air strike on the rebel held al-Saliheen district in Aleppo, Syria, March 11, 2016. (credit:Abdalrhman Ismail / Reuters)
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A boy inspects a damaged house in the rebel held besieged city of Douma, a suburb of Damascus, Syria February 27, 2016. (credit:Bassam Khabieh / Reuters)
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A boy plays with a dog in the rebel-controlled area of Jobar, a suburb of Damascus, Syria March 3, 2016. (credit:Bassam Khabieh / Reuters)
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Protesters carry Free Syrian Army flags and chant slogans during an anti-government protest in the town of Marat Numan in Idlib province, Syria March 4, 2016. (credit:Khalil Ashawi / Reuters)
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A broken frame with a picture lies on the ground of a damaged house in the rebel-controlled area of Jobar, a suburb of Damascus, Syria March 3, 2016. (credit:Bassam Khabieh / Reuters)
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Syria Democratic Forces fighters carry their weapons in a village on the outskirts of al-Shadadi town, Hasaka countryside, Syria February 19, 2016. (credit:Rodi Said / Reuters)
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A woman inspects damage at a camp for internally displaced people after it was hit by shelling in Jabal al-Turkman, Latakia province January 31, 2016. (credit:Ammar Abdullah / Reuters)
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A boy reacts in a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes carried out by the Russian air force in the town of Douma, eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria January 10, 2016. (credit:Bassam Khabieh / Reuters)
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Women mourn the death of a relative killed by Islamic State fighter in Mteahh village near al-Shadadi town, Hasaka countryside Syria February 18, 2016. (credit:Rodi Said / Reuters)
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A damaged building is seen in Hraytan city, Northern Aleppo countryside, Syria February 3, 2016. (credit:Abdalrhman Ismail / Reuters)
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A member of the Free Syrian Army rests on a metal top of an underground tunnel in Aleppo, Syria August 3, 2015. (credit:Abdalrhman Ismail / Reuters)
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