Putin Power: Russian Use of Iranian Air Base

The Kremlin issued a statement Wednesday flatly rejecting criticism of its use of a base in Iran to launch air strikes on targets in Syria, saying that despite criticism from the US and other Western governments, the strikes target only the Islamic State (IS) terror militia. Eyewitness accounts coming out of Syria suggest otherwise and speak of “carpet bombing” tactics that have left huge areas of Aleppo and other cities held by different rebel groups devastated, killing large numbers of non-combatants while leaving IS, which is often not reported to be in the areas bombed, untouched.

Iran has once again reiterated its intention to strengthen ties with players such as Russia and China, while Moscow seems to be sending Washington an overt message that it is in the Middle East to stay.