WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Russia has provided Iran with information that could help Tehran strike American warships, aircraft and other assets in the region, according to two officials familiar with U.S. intelligence on the matter.
The officials, who were not authorized to comment publicly on the sensitive matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity, cautioned that the U.S. intelligence has not uncovered that Russia is directing Iran on what to do with the information as the and Iran fires retaliatory salvos at American assets and allies in the Persian Gulf.
Still, it’s the first indication that Moscow has sought to get involved in the war that the U.S. and Israel launched on Iran a week ago. Russia is in the rare club of countries that maintains friendly relations with Tehran, which has faced years of isolation over its nuclear program and its support of proxy groups that have wreaked havoc in the Middle East, including Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis.
Trump on Friday evening berated a reporter for raising the matter when he opened the floor to questions from the media at the end of a White House meeting about
“I have a lot of respect for you, you鈥檝e always been very nice to me,” Trump said to Peter Doocy, the Fox 海角社区app reporter. “What a stupid question that is to be asking at this time. We鈥檙e talking about something else.鈥�
White House officials downplayed the reports, but did not deny that Russia was sharing intelligence with Iran about U.S. targets in the region. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Friday told reporters that 鈥渋t clearly is not making any difference with respect to the military operations in Iran because we are completely decimating them.鈥�
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in a CBS’ 鈥�60 Minutes鈥� interview on Friday said the U.S. is 鈥渢racking everything鈥� and factoring it into battle plans, when asked about the reports Russia was aiding Iran.
鈥淭he American people can rest assured their commander in chief is well aware of who鈥檚 talking to who,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd anything that shouldn鈥檛 be happening, whether it鈥檚 in public or back-channeled, is being confronted and confronted strongly.鈥�
Leavitt declined to say if Trump had spoken to Russian about the reported intelligence sharing or whether he believed Russia should face repercussions, saying she would let the president speak to that himself.
Asked whether Russia would go beyond political support and offer military assistance to Iran, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there has been no such request from Tehran.
鈥淲e are in dialogue with the Iranian side, with representatives of the Iranian leadership, and will certainly continue this dialogue,鈥� he said Friday.
Pushed on whether Moscow has provided any military or intelligence assistance to Tehran since the Iran war鈥檚 start, he refrained from comment.
Russia has tightened its relationship with Iran as it looked for badly needed missiles and drones to utilize in its
The Biden administration declassified intelligence findings that showed Iran supplies Moscow with attack drones and has assisted the Kremlin with building a drone-manufacturing factory.
The former U.S. administration also accused Iran of to .
Details about the U.S. intelligence were first reported by The Washington Post.
Asked whether the revelation had shaken Trump鈥檚 faith in Putin鈥檚 ability to cut any peace deal in the Russia-Ukraine war, Leavitt said, 鈥淚 think the president would say that peace is still an achievable objective with respect to the Russia-Ukraine war.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President says the United States and its allies in the Middle East are in . Tehran has been supplying Russia with Shaheds for its war on Ukraine and are now utilizing them in retaliatory attacks throughout the Gulf.
Zelenskyy says that he’s spoken to the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait about possible cooperation.
鈥淯kraine knows how to defend against Shahed drone attacks because our cities have faced them almost every night,” said Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, Olga Stefanishyna. 鈥淲hen our partners are in need, we are always ready to help.鈥�
Trump, who has struggled to fulfill a campaign pledge to end the Russia-Ukraine war, has had an up-and-down relationship with Zelenskyy. He’s frequently pressured the Ukrainian leader to heed Russian demands, including that Kyiv concede Ukrainian territory still in its control.
With the Pentagon facing questions about whether the Iran war is depleting U.S. stockpiles, Trump this week grumbled that former President Joe Biden provided billions in high-end weaponry to Ukraine and failed to replenish U.S. reserves.
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Associated Press writers Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow and Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this report.
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