Russia has provided Iran with information that can help Tehran strike US
military, AP sources say
[March 07, 2026]
By SEUNG MIN KIM and AAMER MADHANI
WASHINGTON (AP) — 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 U.S. and Israel continue their
bombardment 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 how paying student-athletes has recalibrated college
sports.
"I have a lot of respect for you, you’ve always been very nice to me,"
Trump said to Peter Doocy, the Fox News reporter. "What a stupid
question that is to be asking at this time. We’re talking about
something else.”
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 “it clearly is not making any difference with respect to
the military operations in Iran because we are completely decimating
them.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in a CBS' “60 Minutes” interview on
Friday said the U.S. is “tracking everything” and factoring it into
battle plans, when asked about the reports Russia was aiding Iran.
“The American people can rest assured their commander in chief is well
aware of who’s talking to who,” he said. “And anything that shouldn’t be
happening, whether it’s in public or back-channeled, is being confronted
and confronted strongly.”
Leavitt declined to say if Trump had spoken to Russian President
Vladimir Putin 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.
“We are in dialogue with the Iranian side, with representatives of the
Iranian leadership, and will certainly continue this dialogue,” he said
Friday.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Nizhny
Novgorod Region Governor Gleb Nikitin at the Kremlin, in , Russia,
Friday, March 6, 2026. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool
Photo via AP)
Pushed on whether Moscow has provided any military or intelligence
assistance to Tehran since the Iran war’s 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 four-year war
against Ukraine.
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 transferring
short-range ballistic missiles to Russia for its war in Ukraine.
Details about the U.S. intelligence were first reported by The
Washington Post.
Asked whether the revelation had shaken Trump’s faith in Putin’s
ability to cut any peace deal in the Russia-Ukraine war, Leavitt
said, “I think the president would say that peace is still an
achievable objective with respect to the Russia-Ukraine war."
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the United
States and its allies in the Middle East are seeking Ukraine’s
expertise in countering Iran’s Shahed drones. 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.
“Ukraine 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. “When our
partners are in need, we are always ready to help.”
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.
___
Associated Press writers Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow and Michelle
L. Price in Washington contributed to this report.
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