Iran: Russia stops using air base for strikes in Syria

Russia will stop using a base in Iran for airstrikes targeting militants in Syria for the time being, Iran’s foreign ministry said Monday.

The move came after Iran's defense minister criticized Russia earlier in the day and said its announcement last week that it used the Hamadan air base for strikes on the Islamic State group was "kind of show-off and ungentlemanly."

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi told reporters in Tehran on Monday that the strikes were “temporary, based on a Russian request” and were “carried out with “mutual understanding and with Iran’s permission,” according to the Associated Press.

He said the Russian mission “is finished, for now” and that Russia “has no base in Iran.”

Russia’s defense ministry announced its warplanes took off from the base last week in the first time they used facilities outside Russia or Syria for air operations against the extremist group. The bombing took place over three days.

Ghasemi’s comments suggest that Iran may not have wanted Russia’s use of the base widely publicized.