Iran: Hamadan base and its use

The Iranian Hamadan base was used by the Russian Federation to strengthen the Russian Air Force's air group in the Syrian state. The exact date for the beginning of the use of the aerodrome is November 23, 2015. At that time, long-range bombers "Tu-22M3" and front-line aircraft "Su-34" were deployed.

What did Iran allow Russia on August 20, 2016? Hamadan Base Began to use our pilots in an indefinite order for the purpose of inflicting air strikes on the units of the IGSF. Less than a week after the military base began to be used, the Teheran was followed by an official statement that the use of the airfield by Russia will be discontinued. This information was officially confirmed by the Kremlin and the Russian Embassy in Iran. Although the statement of the Islamic Republic was unexpected and exposed Russia on an impartial side, the response was very restrained.

Soon, the chairman of the Iranian parliament Ali Larijani gave a refutation of information on the termination of flights, announcing that Russian pilots continue to use the air base.

What was Hamadan for?

Russian media have repeatedly said that this base is extremely important for our country. Why did Iran provide the airfield? The Hamadan Base simplified the military operations conducted in Syria from the air, and also contributed to a multiple increase in their effectiveness.

Recall that a large Russian airbase is located in Mozdok at a distance of 2,5 thousand kilometers. So what is the attractive Hamadan base? VKS RF took off from Hamadan, located 800-900 kilometers from the proposed goal, which provided significant fuel savings in favor of ammunition. As a result, the combat load increased 4-fold.

The fact that Hamadan will become a completely Russian base, similar to the Syrian Hamim with security and technical personnel from our citizens, it did not even go. The airfield remained under the leadership of Iran. As a matter of fact, it acted not even as a base, but as an aerodrome of a jump, where Russian aircraft were given the opportunity to refuel and carry out minor repairs.

When was the base tested?

The first approbation of Hamadan was carried out in 2015, when the Russian bomber Su-34 landed at the airport for repair. The plane was on the base for two days, during which it was corrected by technicians from Russia who arrived there. Why is the news that Russian planes are taking off from Hamadan, so excited Iran?

What does Iran's Foreign Ministry say about this?

Why did Russia leave the Hamadan base? The representative of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in his address stressed that the agreement between Iran and Russia was temporary.

The diplomat also stressed that strikes on the extremist units of the IGSF by Russian planes were carried out exclusively with the permission of Iran.

Earlier, Iran's defense minister Hossein Dehgan criticized colleagues from Russia for revealing secret information about the use of Hamadan by Russian military aircraft.

A scrupulous question

Diplomatic relations between Iran and Russia last for many centuries. At the same time, they are difficult to call simple. The Iranians have many claims to our country. In the national consciousness, grievances are accumulated, accumulated over a long period of time.

Over the past century, the Russian state has intervened more than once in the internal affairs of Persia. Until 1917, our country was three times intervened, and during World War II, Russia, together with England, carried out a total occupation of the state. Large claims have accumulated not only against the northern neighbor. Iran for many years in the international political arena has played the role of an object, not a subject. The country suffered a lot of suffering because of the disagreements of major powers.

As a result, after the accomplishment of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, all foreign advisors from the country were deported, and the absence of foreign military units on the territory of the state became a fundamental position.

According to Nikolai Kozhanov, a lecturer at the European University in St. Petersburg, Iran has for 37 years advocated preventing foreign troops from entering the country. And suddenly, what step does Iran take? Base Hamadan becomes the location of Russian military bombers. Teheran adopted an ambiguous decision, as a result of which the majority of the population had a quite logical question: what about our policy of sovereignty?

At the same time, there are many opponents of the presence of Russian troops on the territory of the country. In the main, they are replenishing the ranks of the reformer. Conservative citizens, on the contrary, make every effort to muffle this wave of discontent. For them, the help of Russian troops in Syria is of great importance.

How did the government and ordinary citizens of the state of Iran react to the incident? The Hamadan base was discussed for a long time at forums on the Internet. This question became very painful. Forum participants openly expressed their discontent, commentators constantly reminded of Russia's insidious policies, and authorities tried to tame the raging debate.

Political games

The tension of the representatives of the Iranian authorities is quite understandable. In the country there is a constant struggle between the liberal-minded political elite headed by President Roukhani and the Conservative Party, one of whose ideological leaders is the former president of the republic Ahmadinejad. The Conservative Party is supported by representatives of the Iranian clergy and by most of the officers of the Guard Corps of the Islamic Revolution.

The members of these two currents have diametrically opposite views. The liberals believe that the actions of Russian troops in Syria brought very few fruits, our country could do more. They want Russia to bring a short-term victory to Tehran in Syria.

According to the senior researcher of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor Vladimir Sazhin, conservatives express confidence that the actions of Russian troops in Syria are more effective. This undermines Iran's political position, for which Syria is the only official allied state in the world. Therefore, Iran shows its discontent towards Russia. The Islamic state does not quite like the strengthening of the position of our country in the Middle East region.

In May 2017, presidential elections will be held in Iran. The conflict over infrastructure such as the military base Hamadan, was a key feature in the tense political struggle in the capital of the country.

According to Aleksey Fenenko, a leading researcher at the Institute for International Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, two parties are fighting in Iran, one of which is promoting rapprochement with the West in the hope that economic sanctions will be abolished, and the other believes that nothing will change from rapprochement and that relations with Russia.

The Iranian Defense Minister belongs to the first political group. According to many Russian political scientists, America will apply countermeasures to Russia and declare that our country cooperates with Shiites against Sunnis.

The share of guilt lies in Russia

A large part of the responsibility for everything that happened in Iran lies on the Kremlin itself. Moscow hurried to make a report on the political success of the country in obtaining a new base. The fact is that, mentioning Hamadan, representatives of the Russian government often gave out wishful thinking. Russia, undoubtedly, wanted to have an additional military base on the territory of Iran, where Russian military personnel would serve, as well as aviation technicians and specialists. However, Tehran was clearly not ready for such a turn of events. The very thought of such a development of events has plagued many citizens of Iran into indignation.

Is America guilty of a misunderstanding?

When Iran officially announced that the Hamadan base will not be transferred to Russia, political experts of our country immediately began to blame for what happened to America. Political scientist Kozhanov believes that the reason is quite different. Russia wanted to receive the second Khmeimim in the East, even if the base acted in a restrictive framework. The Iranians tried to get rid of small, giving Russian military aircraft the right to refuel and repair, but no more. The idea of the aerodrome of the jump could well be sold to the Iranian population, but there was no real base in fact.

According to many experts in the field of politics, Moscow should weigh the pros and cons, taking into account the specifics of Iran's policy and not allowing itself to publicly say that our country has created a new air base. Such statements were heard from some Russian parliamentarians, either because of a misunderstanding of the situation, or because of the reign of euphoria from political victory.

Why did Russian politicians decide to make the secret clear?

According to Sazhin, the fact that Russia decided to arrange a public relations campaign for the deployment of its military aircraft in Iran caused a wave of discontent among the military officials of Iran.

Undoubtedly, during the time of satellite tracking any strategic bomber of Russia, rising into the air, would be immediately fixed, and the results of reconnaissance were reported to the Pentagon and NATO headquarters.

The Russian expert believes that Russian fighters use Hamadan, all countries would know, but no one would say anything. Many would have done this. The mistake of our country lies in the fact that the representatives of the authorities too brightly advertised the stay of Russian pilots in Iran. On the other hand, the act of Iran is difficult to call correct. First he permits the basing of the aircraft, and then sharply prohibits. By its act, the Islamic state inflicted enormous damage on Russia's image.

What the representatives of the Russian generals say about the incident

According to Colonel-General Leonid Ivashov, ex-head of the Main Department for International Cooperation of the Ministry of Defense of Russia, the Hamadan air base was used within the strict framework of a specific agreement between the presidents of Russia and Iran. It would be wrong to make hasty conclusions about the fact that Russia was renting the Hamadan base. It was used for joint actions with Iran as an aerodrome of a jump. The aircraft fulfilled their military tasks and returned to the points of permanent deployment. So there is nothing surprising in the fact that the use of the database is suspended, no. According to Colonel-General, there was no point in continuing the bombers based in Hamadan. Even temporary dislocation requires a lot of money.

According to Ivashov, the fact that Iran perceived Russia's statements about its bases as an indicative speech was fundamentally wrong. This position is caused by some misunderstanding. But the military stressed that Iran has the right to be dissatisfied with the public presentation of the presence of Russian ICS on their base.

How will the events develop further?

It is very difficult to talk about what turn will take the further course of events. The official statement made by Larijani, as well as the responses of our diplomats, inspire a fair amount of optimism.

According to political analyst Vladimir Sazhin, the Kremlin reacted very bluntly to the sharp demarche of Iran's defense minister, explaining the termination of the presence of Russian pilots by the fact that the term of use of the Hamadan base expired, since the mission of military pilots is completed. This was a sign that Moscow does not pursue the goal of severing diplomatic relations with Iran or somehow worsen them. Although, undoubtedly, an unpleasant aftertaste of this story will remain with both states.

According to the expert, this incident will not have a significant impact on the development of bilateral relations between the countries. At the moment, our country is actively seeking ways to establish contact with Iran. The possibility of expanding military cooperation with the Islamic state is being considered. How will Russia-Iran relations develop? The Hamadan base, possibly, will be used by Russian troops in the future as a place of temporary deployment.

Currently, the Iranian Foreign Ministry notes that the use of Hamadan was an authorized mission, which is completed. Official spokesman Bahram Gasemi does not exclude that in the future Russian pilots will be able to fly from Iran, but all will depend on the overall situation in the country.