Russia has provided Iran with intelligence that could help Tehran target U.S. warships, aircraft and other military assets in the region, according to officials familiar with American intelligence assessments.
The people, 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.
Still, it's the first indication that Moscow has sought to get involved in the war that the U.S. and Israel launched against 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.
The White House downplayed reports 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.”
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.
