Russia bombs Syrian militants from Iran base for first time

[The Jackal]

Russian bombers based in Iran on Tuesday struck militant targets inside Syria, the Russian Defence Ministry said, after Moscow deployed Russian aircraft to an Iranian air force base to widen its campaign in Syria.

The ministry said the strikes, by Tupolev-22M3 long-range bombers and Sukhoi-34 fighter bombers, were launched from Iran's Hamadan air base.

It is thought to be the first time that Russia has struck targets inside Syria from Iran since it launched a bombing campaign to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in September last year.

The move shows Russia is expanding its role and presence in the Middle East and comes amid Russian media reports Moscow has asked Iran and Iraq for permission to fire cruise missiles at Syrian targets across their territory from the Caspian Sea.

Excerpt (Read More: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-russia-iran-strikes-idUSKCN10R0PA)

[The Jackal]

I think this indicates that Iran has become the de facto regional power in the Middle East. From staging aircraft at Iranian airbases, Hezbollah and IRGC fighters on the ground in Syria to arming Iranian Shiite militias in Iraq. I think that is why the Gulf states are so hell bent on removing Assad by supporting ISIS and other Sunni fighters. We've always been cognizant of the Shia/Sunni divide so this is nothing new. What is new, I think, is that we are seeing a shifting acknowledgement, a calculation in effect,  by Russia and the US of Iran's status as a 'stabilizing influence'. The question now is how will the Sunnis and the Gulf states respond? Personally, I think this might lead to a major regional sectarian conflict which goes beyond ISIS.