Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA: So the Russian Foreign Ministry is clueless
regarding Iranian deployments in Syria [wink wink]. Is the Russian Defense
Ministry also "unaware"?
Moscow Unaware of Iran’s Military Base Near Syrian Palmyra - Deputy FM
12:19 12.02.2018(updated 17:49 12.02.2018) Get short URL
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201802121061572546-russia-iran-base-palmyra/

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian Foreign Ministry has no information about
Iran having a military base near the Syrian city of Palmyra, Russian Deputy
Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said Monday.

“No, I do not have such information,” Bogdanov told reporters when asked
whether Moscow was aware of Iran’s military base near Palmyra.

Speaking further, the senior official noted that Russia was urging to avoid
the escalation of tensions in the region after Israel's strikes on Syria.

“We call on everyone to be calm, to prevent a very dangerous escalation in
countries of the region,” Bogdanov told reporters.

The statement comes several days after Israeli Defense Forces released
footage allegedly showing the downing of an Iranian drone by an Israeli
attack helicopter and the subsequent airstrike against it on the Syrian
soil.

The Israeli attack prompted response fire from the Syrian air defense
systems. In the second wave of the attack, the Israeli forces struck 12
targets in Syria, including Syrian air defense batteries and Iranian
military facilities, the country's Defense Forces (IDF) said.