Russia allows Iranian arms through Syria’s Latakia airport
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – As Israeli strikes on Syrian main airports have immensely increased after the Israel-Hamas conflict, Iran found a new outlet for sending weapons to Syria through Latakia Airport adjacent to Khmeimim Airbase, currently operated by Russia, a local Syrian website said on Nov. 3.
Saout al-Asima, a local website run by a group of activists operating in Syria and was founded in 2016, said in a report that Russia allowed an Iranian plane, coming from Tehran, to land at the Khmeimim Airbase, in western Syria.
Both Aleppo and Damascus airports, due to the consecutive attacks following the Israel-Hamas growing tension in Gaza since October 7, went out of service and incurred massive damages, as well as, US bases came under Iranian attacks.
Israel frequently targets suspected positions of Iranian-backed militias in Syria in what appears to be an effort to curb their movement amid fears the Israel-Hamas conflict would escalate into a wider regional turmoil.
The website said that a plane of Mahan Air, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), landed at the Khmeimim Airbase, where it stayed more than six hours before the return journey.
The airbase is adjacent to and shares some runways with Latakia Airport (Bassel Al-Assad International Airport).
The aforementioned plane did not hold passengers aboard, and it was unloaded under Russian-Iranian protection, and later four military trucks exited the airport heading to the Highway leading to central and south Syria, the website cited sources from within the airport as saying.
As a result of the successive attacks on Aleppo and Damascus airports, Russia granted Iran a green light to use the Khmeimim Airbase for arms transportation following weeks of negotiations, during which Russia refused to allow Iranian planes to use the airbase for that purpose, according to the sources.
Israeli media reported that the plane took off from Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran with 5 tons of ammunition to be transported to Syria, suggesting that shoulder-fired missile were aboard, according to the website.