While the West struggled toreconcile itself tothe unexpected Russo-Turkish thaw, the agreement struck byMoscow and Tehran tobolster bilateral military strategic ties has literary caught Western capitals offguard.
In accordance withthe deal concluded betweenRussia and Iran, Moscow deployed its Tupolev Tu-22M3 long-range strategic bombers and Sukhoi Su-34 strike jets atthe Hamadan airfield inIran toenhance the countries' joint campaign againstDaesh (ISIS/ISIL) inSyria.
"Russian bombers flying froman Iranian air base struck rebel targets acrossSyria onTuesday, Russian and Iranian officials said, dramatically underscoring the two countries' growing military ties and highlighting Russia's ambitions forgreater influence ina turbulent Middle East," the Washington Post reported onAugust 16.
What lies behindMoscow's decision touse Iran's Hamadan airbase toattack terrorists? And why is the West fuming overthe Russo-Iranian move?
"Tehran's decision toallow Russia touse the Hamadan airbase will greatly facilitate the operations ofthe Russian Aerospace Forces againstDaesh [ISIS/ISIL]," The Saker, a US-based top level European military analyst, told Sputnik, highlightingthree major "technical" reasons behindthe move.
"First, using Hamadan, asopposed tousing airfields insouthern Russia, will greatly reduce the flight time totargets inSyria, allow the Russian aircraft toconduct more fuel efficient missions and tocarry heavier weapon loads," he narrated.
"No less important is the fact that using Hamadan will greatly complicate the US/NATO efforts towarn their 'good terrorist' allies aboutincoming Russian airstrikes: it will be harder forthe US todetect Russian aircraft and when they do, they will have less time towarn their proxies onthe ground," the military analyst explained.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="528"]
In this photo taken on Monday, Aug. 15, 2016, A Russian Tu-22M3 bomber stands on the tarmac at an air base near Hamedan, Iran.[/caption]"Furthermore," he pointed out, "Hamadan is located ina very safe and well protected part ofIran which would be far safer tooperate fromthan Hmeymim inSyria (which is located 1000 km (621 ml) fromRussia butonly 50 km (31 ml) fromthe Turkish border)."
"I would say that Hamadan is an ideal location tooperate fromfor the Russian Aerospace Forces," he emphasized.
But that's half the story, according tothe military analyst. The Saker called attention tothe fact that the decision todeploy Russia's bomber atthe Hamadan airfield is also an important symbolic move.
"The main reason forthe Russian decision touse Hamadan is not only a technical one. The fact that the Iranians have now publicly made this base available toRussia indicates a deepening ofthe strategic collaboration betweenthese two countries and a stronger Russian commitment tothe defense ofSyria againstthe foreign invaders, something which Tehran had been wanting the Russians todo fora long while," The Saker highlighted.
The military analyst pointed outthere the Iranians feared that Russia's commitment tothe Syrian peace process could be used byDaesh and al-Qaeda terrorists toregroup, rearm and reorganize. However, the Kremlin's recent move has dispelled Tehran's doubts.
"The Russian move toHamadan indicates that the Kremlin is serious abouthitting Daesh ashard asneed be toprotect Syria fromthe Takfiri [radical Islamist] invasion," he remarked.
The Saker emphasized that incontrast toTurkey, the Iranians have always been trustworthy "even if their interests [have not been] always the same asRussia's, and that is how it should be."
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1474"]
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L), Chinese President Xi Jinping (C) and Iran's President Hassan Rouhani attend the Expo Center before the opening ceremony at the Expo Center at the fourth Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) summit in Shanghai on May 21, 2014.[/caption]"I would characterize the relationship betweenRussia and Iran asa strategic partnership oftwo different butequal parties who collaborate witheach other butwho retain their own, sovereign, agenda. This is not a formal alliance but, ina way, this is even better asit is something much more flexible and viable inthe long term. This is also similar tothe kind ofstrategic partnership Russia has withChina, even though the one withChina is far deeper and really should be called a 'strategic symbiosis'," he elaborated.
It should be noted inthis context, that Iran is playing a vital role both inthe China-led One Belt One Road (New Silk Road) initiative and inthe Russo-Iranian-Indian North-South International Transport Corridor project aimed atbolstering Eurasia's integration and economic development.Iran is emerging asan influential geopolitical player inthe Middle East, committed tothe multi-polar world concept.
Enhancing its relations withTurkey and Russia Iran is pushing ahead withthe idea ofthe trilateral coalition aimed atresolving the Syrian crisis.
However, such a coalition does not fit intothe US-NATO plans.
"The West is clearly unhappy aboutthe boost inRussian capabilities the move toHamadan represents," The Saker remarked.
Indeed, overthe pastfew days Washington has openly signaled its dissatisfaction withthe Russo-Iranian move.
On Tuesday, US State Department deputy spokesperson Mark Toner told reporters that Washington is looking intowhether Russia has violated a UN Security Council Resolution 2231 bydeploying Tu-22M3s and Su-34s toan Iranian air base.
In response, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov explained toAmerican policymakerswhy the Russo-Iranian decision fully complies withthe international law and does not violate the resolution.
"According tothis resolution, supplies, sale and transfer ofcertain types ofweapons, including combat aircraft, should be agreed withthe UNSC. In the case we are discussing, there was no supply, sale or transfer ofcombat jets toIran. These jets are used bythe Russian Aerospace Forces toconduct an anti-terrorist operation inthe Syrian Arab Republic atthe request ofthe legitimate Syrian leadership," Lavrov stressed.
"The West is truly horrified bythe deepening ofthe strategic partnership betweenRussia and Iran," The Saker told Sputnik.
"At a time when the 'American Empire' is greatly weakened and generally clueless, the partnership betweenIran and Russia has an immense potential, something which greatly angers and frightens the neocons," the military analyst underscored.
Furthermore, "this development also clearly seals Iran's status asthe most powerful country inthe Middle-East, something which horrifies the Israelis and, even more so, the Saudis. For Iran toget the Russians tocommit the way they now have is a major political success," The Saker concluded.
By Sputnik News
