Russia supplying Iran with intelligence to focus on US forces, says report
Russia is providing Iran with intelligence to help target US forces in the Middle East, according to a report, in a development likely to cause a rift between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
Since the beginning of the war last Saturday, Moscow has been supplying Iran with the locations of US military assets including warships and aircraft, three officials told The Washington Post.
The conflict has already spread far beyond the Middle East as Iran retaliates against US bases in the region, with attacks reported as far as Azerbaijan and Sri Lanka.
Russia has condemned the conflict as an “unprovoked act of armed aggression” by the US and Israel despite its own brutal ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Moscow has warned that it will mean “forces will emerge in Iran… in favour of doing exactly what the Americans want to avoid – acquiring a nuclear bomb”.
But exactly how far it has assisted Iran with its targeting is not entirely clear. Officials told the Post that the Iranian military’s ability to locate US forces has been degraded in just one week of fighting.
And US forces have shown no sign of letting up, after joint strikes with Israel have killed at least 1,200 people in Iran, according to Iranian authorities.
Mr Trump has warned there will be “no deal with Iran except unconditional surrender” in his latest rant, as the Middle East is embroiled in the seventh day of a deadly conflict.
“There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER,” Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday.
“After that, and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before.”
US secretary of defence Pete Hegseth said the “amount of firepower over Iran and over Tehran is about to surge dramatically”, adding: “When we say more to come, it’s more fighter squadrons, it’s more capabilities, it’s more defensive capabilities, and it’s more bomber pulses more frequently.”
Any reports regarding potential Russian involvement in the war could affect Trump’s relationship with Putin, with whom he has held far warmer ties than his predecessors in the White House. Trump has consistently sided with Putin over the war in Ukraine.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said the Iranian regime “is being absolutely crushed” without commenting on potential Russian involvement.
“Their ballistic missile retaliation is decreasing every day, their navy is being wiped out, their production capacity is being demolished, and proxies are hardly putting up a fight.”
Source: independent.co.uk
