In this photo taken on Monday, Aug. 15, 2016, A Russian Tu-22M3 bomber stands on the tarmac at an air base near Hamedan, Iran. Russian warplanes took off on Tuesday Aug. 16, from Iran to target Islamic State fighters and other militants in Syria, widening Moscow's bombing campaign in Syria.(WarfareWW Photo via AP) (The Associated Press)
TEHRAN, Iran – The speaker of Iran's parliament is stressing that Russia does not have a permanent military base within the Islamic Republic, a day after Moscow announced launching airstrikes on Syria from Iran.
The comments by Ali Larijani, reported on Wednesday by the state-run IRNA news agency, seem geared at easing domestic concerns over the strikes. Iran's constitution, ratified after its 1979 Islamic Revolution, bars foreign militaries from having bases within the country.
Larijani did not directly discuss the strikes in his comments.
Russia's Defense Ministry announced on Tuesday that it launched the strikes from near the Iranian city of Hamedan and struck targets in three provinces in northern and eastern Syria.
The announcement from Russia marks the first significant stationing of its troops there since World War II.
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