Editor's Note – Who is an "outsider"?

On Tuesday, August 16 , the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that Russian bombers had used an airport in Hamedan, located in western Iran, to bomb positions of opponents of Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

On Tuesday, August 16 , after the news was published, the official Islamic Republic News Agency (Irana) in a report quoted Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, as describing the goal of Tehran and Moscow’s cooperation as fighting terrorism and strategic. Ali Shamkhani, confirming the words of the Russian Ministry of Defense, announced that “Russian army Tupolev 22 long-range bombers and Sukhoi 34 fighter-bombers attacked positions of opponents of Bashar al-Assad from the Nojeh (Shahrokhi) air base in Hamedan.”

On Wednesday, August 17 , US State Department spokesman Mark Toner expressed regret over the transfer of Hamedan Air Base and announced the opening of four runways at Nojeh Air Base for Russian Tupolev aircraft to attack Assad's opponents. He stated that Russia's use of an Iranian military base to conduct military operations in Syria is a violation of UN resolution 2231, which prohibits the sale or transfer of any combat aircraft to Iran.

We would like to remind you that according to Article 146 of the Iranian Constitution, the establishment of any foreign military base in the country is prohibited, even if it is for peaceful use.

The reaction of Iranian Islamic government officials to Ali Shamkhani's remarks is interesting in its own way.

On Wednesday, August 17 , Ali Larijani announced in an open session of the parliament that “Iran has not provided any military bases to other countries and cooperation with Russia is only aimed at resolving the terrorism crisis in the region.”

On Wednesday, August 17 , Alaeddin Boroujerdi, head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, said in an interview with IRNA that “the flight of Russian planes from Nojeh base in Hamedan is based on a resolution of the Supreme National Security Council.”

On Wednesday, August 17 , Ali Akbar Velayati, advisor to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ali Khamenei, said that “strategic relations with Russia require certain requirements, including joint cooperation in the fight against terrorism and the aggression of the Americans and their allies against our allies.”

On Thursday , Mahmoud Sadeghi, a Tehran MP in the parliament, said that a letter signed by twenty MPs requesting a closed-door meeting to review the issuance of a permit for the use of Russian fighter jets from Nojeh Air Base in Hamedan had been submitted to the speaker of the parliament. The meeting is likely to be held on Sunday.

On Thursday, August 19 , the Al-Alam news system affiliated with the Islamic State of Iran published an article in its English section titled, “Russia also wants NATO’s military base in Turkey for attacks against ISIS in Syria.”

I must admit that in the world of news, there are cases where interpretation and analysis are unnecessary. The flow of news also entails analysis of the news. If you look at the statements of Iranian government officials, you will realize that not only the members of the Legislative Assembly, but also the head of the legislative branch were unaware of the flaw in Article 146 of the Constitution.

The important question that arises is: who is an insider and who is an outsider in the Islamic system of Iran?

More outsiders than the representatives and the Speaker of the Shura Council to decide such an important matter are the eighty million Iranians who must hear the news of the transfer of the Nojeh (Shahrokhi) air base from the Russian Ministry of Defense. After the incompetence of the ninth and tenth governments of Iran, the eyes of the Iranian people have now been opened to the transfer of the air base. Something that has been unprecedented since World War II.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is on the verge of fulfilling Peter the Great's long-held dream of reaching warm waters through Iran, the Black Sea, and then the Mediterranean—a dream that even the most incompetent Qajar monarchs had thwarted.

The news of thefts worth several trillion tomans by those in power in Iran has turned into embezzlements worth several billion dollars in oil money. And now, the handover of air bases to Russia. It seems that the Iranian people’s alienation is accelerating every day. We are constantly worried about what new fruit will come from this garden! We may soon be forced to add “Ouf” or “Vich” to the end of our names.

It seems that the people of Iran are the ones who have no stake in the present and future of Iran.

FCNN Newsroom