“Even if the current round of Russian airstrikes from an Iranian air base has come to a halt, we have no reason to believe they would not happen again, especially if there are no consequences for Russia’s prior use of Iranian territory from which to launch attacks in Syria,” the senators wrote.
In an interview, Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), who spearheaded the letter, went a step further, saying he was already certain that Russia’s use of Iranian territory “is a violation of the arms embargo that the U.N. passed.”
“The U.N.’s not going to enforce it unless the U.S. says something,” Barrasso continued. “If we’re not going to point out this, what violations will we point out?”
The senators rest their case on a clause in the deal prohibiting “the supply, sale or transfer” of “combat arms,” among other materiel, “for the use in or benefit of Iran.”
Barrasso said that the series of sorties flown by Russian bombers in mid-August from Iran’s Hamadan Airbase clearly violates this direction, because they were done “without the approval of the Security Council.”
“They didn’t get [approval]. Russia didn’t get it, Iran didn’t get it,” Barrasso said. “It seems to be a violation, to me, from both.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has insisted the operations did not violate the arms embargo because Russia did not supply its combat jets to Iran. Rather, he said, the Russian Air Force got Iranian consent to use the base and the Syrian government approved the airstrikes.
But the letter contends that administration is not doing enough to enforce the embargo.
“If launching such airstrikes from Iran violates a legally binding Security Council resolution, then that point should be made clear and enforced,” it reads.
State Department spokesman John Kirby responded: “We are aware of the letter and will respond to it appropriately.”
Republicans have long decried the nuclear pact the administration struck last year with Tehran and several other countries. Not a single Republican member of Congress voted in favor of the deal and many have continued to call for its repeal. They argue that recently, Iran has been using the deal as political cover to launch a series of ballistic missile tests, against which Republicans want a stronger response.
Congressional Republicans are now pushing for a renewal of the current regime of sanctions against Iran, along with provisions that would expand mandatory sanctions against Tehran for ballistic missile tests, cyber threats and actions of the country’s Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The senators’ letter includes a swipe at the administration’s oversight of the Iran agreement, reminding Kerry that the Obama administration “promised vigorous enforcement” in situations like this. The letter also questions the administration’s policy toward Russia, arguing Moscow’s “combat operations have successfully advanced Russia’s interests in Syria to the detriment of ours,” and concluding that “if it were not already obvious, these events should make clear that it is misguided to negotiate with Russia on the basis that we share the same desired end state in Syria.”
The Russian Defense Ministry seemed to take both the administration and the Iranian government by surprise when it announced in August that its bombers launched airstrikes from Iran, much closer than the Russian base it had been using. That allowed for a bigger payload and an intensified air campaign in Syria.
The State Department said the Russian warplanes had predominantly targeted moderate opposition forces fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, not the Islamic State or other groups considered terrorists. Deputy spokesman Mark Toner called the flights “unfortunate.”
A few days later, following outrage in Iran at what some considered a breach of sovereignty, Iran’s foreign ministry announced that Russia’s “temporary mission” had ended. However, both Moscow and Tehran held out the possibility it might happen again.
The potential of repeating this episode is part of what prompted the GOP senators to send the letter.
“We should be using all available tools to dissuade Russia from continuing its airstrikes in Syria that are clearly not in our interest,” the senators wrote.
Beyond that, letter author Barrasso blames Obama for “telegraphing weakness” to “macho men leaders around the world” like Russian President Vladimir Putin who believe they can take actions detrimental to U.S. interests without ramifications.
“Russia has played a very weak hand extremely well, and I think President Obama has played a very strong hand very poorly,” Barrasso said.