A new report has further increased global tension amid the ongoing war in the Middle East. A report quoting American intelligence officials claims that Russia has shared intelligence with Iran that would allow it to identify and potentially target US military assets in the region. However, the Americans have no evidence that Moscow is directly instructing Tehran to take military action.
According to the news agency report, two American officials, on the condition of anonymity, said that the information shared by Russia was giving Iran indications about the location of American warships, military aircraft and other military resources. Amidst the increasing conflict in the region, Russia may provide some level of operational support to Iran.
Responding to this report, US President Donald Trump rejected the question. He said, “How stupid it is to ask this question at this time. We are talking about something else.” White House Press Secretary Carolina Leavitt also downplayed the impact of this alleged intelligence cooperation. He said, “It is clear that military operations in Iran are not being affected because we are completely eliminating them.”
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Washington is keeping a close eye on the situation. He said, “The American people can rest assured that their commander in chief knows exactly who is talking to whom. Anything that should not happen, whether in public or in back-channels, is being confronted and dealt with sternly.”
On the other hand, the Kremlin in Moscow neither confirmed nor clearly denied these allegations. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that dialogue between Russia and Iran continues. “We are in dialogue with representatives of the Iranian side and the Iranian leadership, and will certainly continue this dialogue,” he said.
Relations between Russia and Iran have grown increasingly strong over the past few years, especially since Russia launched the Ukraine campaign. US intelligence agencies have previously assessed that Iran provided Shahed attack drones to Russia and helped manufacture them within Russia.
Meanwhile, Ukraine led by Zelensky has also become indirectly active in this conflict. Ukraine has offered technical assistance to US allies in the Middle East to defend against Iranian drones. Ukraine’s Ambassador to the US Olga Stefanyshina said, “Ukraine knows how to defend against Shahid drone attacks as our cities face them almost every night. When our partners need it, we are always ready to help.”
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