Iran, Russia, Syria in Close Partnership against Terrorism: SNSC Spokesperson

Iran, Russia and Syria are providing each other with their “military, intelligence, commanding, training and territorial capacities” as part of mutual cooperation in tackling terrorist groups in Syria, Khosravi said on Wednesday.

Such trilateral cooperation has been already developed and is vigorously in progress, he underlined, adding that parties to this collective action have been carefully coordinating efforts is a series of meetings and multiple reciprocal visits by their high-ranking political, security and military officials.

Khosravi, however, made it clear that the exchange of capacities of the three countries is “proportional to progress in the operational field and the success achieved in the course of cooperation.”

The comments came after media reports that Russia has used an airbase in Iran’s western city of Hamedan to launch airstrikes against terrorists in Syria using long-range Tupolev-22M3 bombers and Sukhoi-34 fighter bombers.

On Tuesday, Russia's Rossiya 24 channel also broadcast uncaptioned images of at least three Tupolev-22M3 bombers and a Russian military transport plane inside Iran. It said the Iranian deployment would allow the Russian air force to cut flight times by 60 percent.

Later in the day, SNSC Secreatry Ali Shamkhani said that Tehran and Moscow have developed a strategic partnership in the war on terrorism in Syria, saying they share “capacities and facilities” in the anti-terrorism campaign.

Syria has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with various terrorist groups, including Daesh (also known as ISIS or ISIL), currently controlling parts of it.

Meanwhile, Russia’s aerial support for the Syrian forces since September 2015 has given fresh impetus to the fight against the foreign-backed terrorists.

Iran has also remained a close ally of Syria and supports its legitimate government in the face of militancy.