US says Russian intelligence for Iran ‘not making any difference’ in war

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 US intelligence on the matter.

The officials, who were not authorised to comment publicly on the sensitive matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity, cautioned that US intelligence has not uncovered that Russia is directing Iran on what to do with the information as the US and Israel continue their bombardment and Iran fires retaliatory salvoes at American assets and allies in the Persian Gulf.

Still, it is the first indication that Moscow has sought to get involved in the war that the US 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 programme and its support of proxy groups that have wreaked havoc in the Middle East, including Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis.

The White House downplayed reports that Russia was sharing intelligence with Iran about US 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”.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a CBS 60 Minutes interview on Friday, said the US 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-channelled, is being confronted and confronted strongly.”