U.S. says Russia's use of Iranian air base "not helpful"

The United States on Wednesday expressed concerns over Russia's use of Iran's air base to conduct military strikes in Syria, saying that such move is "not helpful" to the situation in the war-torn country.

"It continues to complicate what is already a very dangerous situation in and around Aleppo, when you have Russia using Iranian airbases as a way to carry out more intensive bombing runs that are hitting, continue to hit civilian populations," State Department spokesperson Mark Toner said at a regular press briefing.

Russia said Tuesday its bombers took off from an Iranian airbase to strike terrorist targets in Syria, in an unprecedented move that deepens its involvement in the Middle East and underscores Moscow's increasingly close ties with Tehran.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that Tu-22M3 long-range bombers and Su-34 frontline bombers took off from Hamadan base in western Iran and "carried out a group air strike against the Islamic State (IS) and Nusra Front terrorist groups' targets in the provinces of Aleppo, Deir ez-Zor and Idlib."

Toner said the U.S. is assessing whether Russia's move violated UN Security Council resolution 2231, which prohibits the supply, sale and transfer of combat aircraft to Iran.

At Tuesday's press briefing, Toner called Russia's move "unfortunate, but not surprising or unexpected."

The Pentagon confirmed on Tuesday the Russian military notified the U.S.-led coalition against the IS before Russian bombers carried out airstrikes in Syria from Iran. Enditem