The Iranian Hamadan air base has been receiving Russian aircraft at the Syrian government’s request to tackle terrorism, Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan said.

Sputnik — According to Dehghan, the use of Hamadan air base is the result of mutual cooperation at Syria’s government request.
“Reception of Russian aircraft at the airbase in Hamadan is carried out in the framework of mutual cooperation and the fight against terrorism at the request of the Syrian government,” Hossein Dehghan said as quoted by the Tasnim news agency.

Tehran Has No Plan to Acquire Russia’s S-400

Iran has no current program to buy the Russian S-400 Triumf air defense systems offered by Moscow, Iranian Defense Minister also added.

“The Russian side has offered Iran S-400 systems, but we do not have the program on their acquisition,” Hossein Dehghan said as quoted by the Tasnim news agency.

On August 15, an undisclosed number of the Tupolev Tu-22M3 supersonic long-range strategic bombers and Sukhoi Su-34 strike fighters left the airfield in the Russian town of Mozdok located in the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania and landed at the Hamadan airfield in Iran.

Russian bombers deployed to Iran have carried out several massive airstrikes against Daesh and al-Nusra Front targets in Syria this week.

On Thursday, Tu-22M3s and Su-34 destroyed five large depots with weapons, ammunitions and fuel, six command and control centers and armored military hardware in the Deir ez-Zor province, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported. “A large number of militants” were killed in the operation.