Russia uses Iran base

Russia used Iran as a base from which to launch air strikes against Syrian militants for the first time yesterday, widening its air campaign in Syria and deepening its involvement in the Middle East.

In a move underscoring Moscow's increasingly close ties with Tehran, long-range Russian Tupolev-22M3 bombers and Sukhoi-34 fighter bombers used Iran's Hamadan air base to strike a range of targets in Syria.

It was also thought to be the first time that Iran has allowed a foreign power to use its territory for military operations since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

The Iranian deployment will boost Russia's image as a central player in the Middle East and allow the Russian air force to cut flight times and increase bombing payloads.

Both countries back Assad, and Russia, after a delay, has supplied Iran with its S-300 missile air defence system, evidence of a growing partnership between the pair that has helped turn the tide in Syria's civil war and is testing US influence in the Middle East.

Russia also gave advanced notice to the US-led coalition battling Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, complying with the terms of a safety agreement meant to avoid an accidental clash in the skies, the US military said.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi yesterday said Iraq, which lies between Iran and Syria, had granted Russia permission to use its air space, on the condition the planes use corridors along Iraq's borders and not fly over Iraqi cities.

The Russian Defence Ministry  said yesterday's strikes had targeted Islamic State as well as militants previously known as the Nusra Front in the Aleppo, Idlib and Deir al Zour provinces.

"As a result of the strikes five large arms depots were destroyed ... a militant training camp ... three command and control points ... and a significant number of militants," the ministry said in a statement.

The destroyed facilities had all been used to support militants in the Aleppo area, it said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, said heavy air strikes yesterday had hit many targets in and around Aleppo and elsewhere in Syria, killing dozens.

Russian media yesterday reported that Russia had also requested and received permission to use Iran and Iraq as a route to fire cruise missiles from its Caspian Sea fleet into Syria, as it has done in the past.