Iran opened its airspace to Russian military planes flying into Syria after the denial of overflight permission by NATO countries in the region, a Russian diplomat in Tehran told the Tass news agency Wednesday.
The move by Iran allows Russia to continue flying humanitarian aid to Syria, one senior Foreign Ministry official said, and another noted that Russia "has never made a secret" of its arms sales and military collaboration with the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
The airspace dispute and Moscow's claim of unabashed alliance with the embattled Assad were the latest developments after the Obama administration's accusations last week that Russia appeared to be expanding its military presence in Syria and may be preparing to send troops to back Assad.