Major-General Igor Konashenkov, a Russian Defence Ministry spokesman, said in a statement that Russian aircraft operating from an Iranian air base to conduct strikes in Syria had completed their tasks, but left open the possibility of using the Hamadan base again if circumstances warranted.

“Further use of the Hamadan air base in the Islamic Republic of Iran by the Russian Aerospace Forces will be carried out on the basis of mutual agreements to fight terrorism and depending on the prevailing circumstances in Syria,” Reuters quoted Konashenkov as saying.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Monday that Russia has now stopped using the air base.

“Now, the deployment is temporarily finished and Russia’s use of the base has ended,” Qassemi said, adding, “Russia has no base in Iran.”

Last week long-range Russian Tupolev-22M3 bombers and Sukhoi-34 fighter bombers used the air base to launch air strikes against Daesh and al-Nusra strongholds in Syria.

This was the first time a foreign power is using an Iranian base since World War II.