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Why Russian warplanes might return to Iran

Shared tactical objectives in Syria are likely to continue to drive Russian-Iranian cooperation despite the quick end to Moscow's use of the Hamedan air base.
Tu-22M3 bombers perform during the International Army Games 2016 at the Ashuluk military polygon outside Astrakhan, Russia, August 7, 2016. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov - RTSLJQO

TEHRAN, Iran — News of Russian warplanes flying missions from an air base in Iran’s western province of Hamedan first made headlines Aug. 15. The Arab outlet Al-Masdar News scooped the development, publishing exclusive footage of Russian TU-22M3 bombers and Sukhoi-34 strike fighters in the Islamic Republic. Soon afterward, Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed that it was launching attacks against Islamic State (IS) targets in Syria from Iranian soil.

In Tehran, Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, confirmed the operations, highlighting that they had been carried out with the council's mandate, and said that cooperation between Iran and Russia in the fight against IS would “continue until they [the militants] are fully annihilated.” A few days later, however, both Russian and Iranian media outlets reported a surprising halt to the Russian operations out of Hamedan and that Russian planes were leaving Iran. There was also speculation about the consequences of these developments on Iranian-Russian relations. It remains unknown why Iran allowed the Russians to use the air base in the first place and also why the Russians left so quickly.

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