The preparation of the Iranian Hamedan Airbase for transfer of Russian military aircraft has been conducted since September 2015. A year later, on August 15, 2016, its use was formally legalized. Read more in the investigation of InformNapalm.

On August 16, 2016, Al-Masdar website informed that a day earlier, on August 15, Russian Tu-22M3 and Su-34 bombers arrived at the Iranian military base Hamedan (35° 12’0″N 48° 39’32″E).

On August 15, photos of the newly arrived Russian aircraft at the airbase Hamedan were posted on Twitter by Warfare Worldwide analytical group.

The photo features three Tu-22M3 with board numbers (in red): 43, 16, and 57.

Earlier InformNapalm published personal data of commanders of several Tu-22M3 crews  with board numbers (red) 24, 26 and 42, who bombed Syrian civilians.

Read more in the investigation: Who is bombing Syria: personal data of 58 Russian airforce officers (infographics).

Let us remind you about a big international scandal around the Iranian air base Hamedan and the Russian Air Forces back in October 2015.

That time Fox News channel cited the intelligence report that during 10 days Russian aircraft transported weapons from Iran to Syria. These actions grossly violated the arms embargo imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council resolutions. In turn, InformNapalm international volunteer community in the course of additional investigation of open information sources had confirmed these data. At the end of October 2015, a conversation between a pilot of Il-76MD and a dispatcher was recorded, analyzed and published. We found that a group of Russian aircraft with leading Il-76MD (RF-76554) flew from Mozdok military airfield to Iranian airbase Hamedan on September 17, 2015.

Read more in the investigation: Russia supplies weapons from Iran to Syria in violation of embargo: data of intelligence and audio interception.

Therefore, given the repeated illegal flights of Russian military to Iranian Hamedan airbase, the preparation of this airbase for the deployment of Russian Tu-22M3 and Su-34 has been carried out at least since the beginning of the operation of the Russian Air Forces in Syria. Formal legalization of Hamedan as a base for Russian air strikes from the Iran territory just during the first day caused a sharp increase in the number of victims of carpet bombing by the Russian Air Forces among Syrian civilians. Such actions can be classified not as a fight against terrorism but rather as a government terror against innocent Syrian citizens.

Prepared by Roman Burko especially for InformNapalm.org

Translated by Andrii Gryganskyi

Edited by Sveta Kemblowski

(CC BY) Information specially prepared for InformNapalm.org site, an active link to the authors and our project is obligatory for any reprint or further use of the material.