The Kyrgyz parliament has rejected talks on early closing of the US air base in the republic, RIA Novosti reports.
Ata-Zhurt introduced the issue for discussions on Friday. The US air base at Manas Airport in Bishkek opened in December 2001. It covers 30% of fueling for aircraft heading to Afghanistan. The deal on maintenance of the base stays in force until 2014. Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev reminded the US ambassador that the US forces will leave as soon as the document expires.
About 1,500 US servicemen and civilians operate the base. Several protests were organized at the US Embassy in Bishkek last week. Protesters demanded immediate closure of the air base. The base is at a high risk of being attacked if a US-Iranian war starts.
Hossein Salami, Deputy Commander of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, said that Iran would attack any state allowing an attack to be launched from its territory against Tehran.
