The US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has said he is “not very concerned” about press reports that Russia is providing intelligence to Iran on potential American targets. “We are not worried about it. We will deal with it if necessary,” he said in excerpts released Friday from an interview he gave to CBS’s “60 Minutes” scheduled for Sunday. “We are monitoring everything,” added the Pentagon chief without confirming the information.
The Washington Post reported that Russia was providing Iran with information on potential American targets in the Middle East, including the location of ships and aircraft, citing three anonymous sources. The New York Times later revealed that satellite images showing the location of US warships and military personnel had been transmitted to Tehran, but the newspaper claims that according to its sources, Moscow has been providing this information to its Iranian ally for some time, fueling them with Shahed drones to conduct their own war in Ukraine. However, Tehran has shared the knowledge and now these attack drones are produced on Russian soil.
Vladimir Putin spoke by phone on Friday with his Iranian counterpart Massoud Pezechkian about the American-Israeli strikes. In a statement, the Kremlin indicated that the Russian president called for a halt to hostilities and urged a “quick return to the path” of a diplomatic solution. The two leaders agreed to continue their exchanges after Vladimir Putin offered his condolences following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The statement does not directly mention the sharing of intelligence, but indicates that communication through “various channels” will continue.
“Until now, Iranian forces have not targeted any US warships, but they have carried out strikes against US military bases, killing six soldiers in Kuwait and damaging facilities in Bahrain. Iranian drones also struck a building housing a CIA station in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The attack officially caused no injuries.”
Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, stated that the pace of Iranian retaliation had slowed down. “The Iranian regime is completely crumbling,” she said. “Its ability to respond with ballistic missiles is decreasing every day, its navy is decimated, its production capacity is annihilated, and its supportive allies offer virtually no resistance.”
Although the US provides intelligence to Ukraine in its war against Russia, the sharing of information between Russia and Iran could complicate relations between the US and Russia, and lead President Trump to take a less conciliatory stance towards Vladimir Putin.
