Pentagon asserts US forces are monitoring Russian-Iranian operations amid escalating battle within the area.
Revealed On 7 Mar 2026
Washington has downplayed studies that Russia is sharing intelligence with Iran about United States targets throughout the Center East amid the burgeoning US-Israel war on Iran, first reported by The Washington Submit.
Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a CBS 60 Minutes interview on Friday, mentioned the US is “monitoring all the pieces” and factoring it into battle plans when requested in regards to the studies Moscow was aiding Tehran.
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Because the conflict started on February 28, Russia has handed Iran the areas of US army belongings, together with warships and plane, three officers, who spoke on the situation of anonymity, advised The Washington Submit.
“It does look like it’s a reasonably complete effort,” one of many sources advised the newspaper.
In the meantime, nameless officers advised The Related Press information company that US intelligence has not uncovered that Russia is directing Iran on what to do with the data, because the US and Israel continue their bombardment and Iran fires retaliatory salvoes at US assets and allies within the Gulf.
Hegseth mentioned the USA is “not involved” in regards to the studies, additionally downplaying the chance that Russia’s help could possibly be placing US residents in hurt’s manner.
“The American folks can relaxation assured their commander-in-chief is properly conscious of who’s speaking to who,” Hegseth mentioned.
“And something that shouldn’t be taking place, whether or not it’s in public or back-channelled, is being confronted and confronted strongly.”
He continued: “We’re placing the opposite guys in peril, and that’s our job. So we’re not involved about that. However the one ones that must be apprehensive proper now are Iranians that suppose they’re gonna reside.”
White Home Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Friday additionally claimed to reporters that “[the report] clearly shouldn’t be making any distinction with respect to the army operations in Iran as a result of we’re fully decimating them.”
Leavitt declined to say if Trump had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin in regards to the reported intelligence sharing or whether or not he believed Russia ought to face repercussions, saying she would let the president converse to that himself.
First indicators of Moscow’s involvement
Trump, for his half, on Friday night berated a reporter for elevating the matter of the report when he opened the ground to questions from the media on the finish of a White Home assembly about how paying student-athletes has recalibrated faculty sports activities.
“I’ve a number of respect for you, you’ve at all times been very good to me,” the US president mentioned to Peter Doocy, the Fox Information reporter.
“What a silly query that’s to be asking right now. We’re speaking about one thing else.”
The intelligence is the primary indication that Moscow has sought to become involved within the conflict that the US and Israel launched on Iran per week in the past.
Requested whether or not Russia would transcend political help and supply army help to Iran, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov mentioned there was no such request from Tehran.
“We’re in dialogue with the Iranian facet, with representatives of the Iranian management, and will definitely proceed this dialogue,” he mentioned on Friday.
Pushed on whether or not Moscow has supplied any army or intelligence help to Tehran because the Iran conflict’s begin, he shunned remark.
Russia has tightened its relationship with Iran because it appeared for badly wanted missiles and drones to make use of in its four-year war against Ukraine. However the pair have lengthy maintained pleasant relations, even whereas Tehran has confronted years of isolation from the West over its nuclear programme and its help of proxy teams within the Center East.
