Russia has been providing Iran with intelligence used to target U.S. military personnel in the Middle East, the Washington Post reported on March 6, citing three unnamed U.S. officials.
According to the officials, Moscow has supplied Tehran with information on the location of U.S. military facilities — including ships and aircraft — since the escalation between the United States, Israel, and Iran began on Feb. 28. One source described the support as “comprehensive.”
The reported intelligence sharing marks a potential escalation in Russia’s role in the conflict and signals indirect involvement by another major U.S. adversary in the Middle East crisis.
A U.S. official told the Washington Post that Moscow may view the move as retaliation for Washington’s military support for Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
The development comes as the Trump administration remains engaged in talks with Russia about potential economic cooperation, with proposals suggesting deals worth up to $14 trillion.
At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on March 5 that Ukraine could assist partners, including the United States, in countering Iranian Shahed-type attack drones.
Since the escalation began, Iran has launched thousands of attack drones and hundreds of missiles against U.S. bases, diplomatic facilities, and civilian targets across the Middle East.
Six U.S. service members were killed and several others injured in an Iranian drone attack in Kuwait.
The crisis began after Israel and the United States launched coordinated strikes against the Iranian theocratic regime on Feb. 28, targeting military infrastructure and senior leadership.
Russia condemned the strikes, with its Foreign Ministry calling them “an unprovoked act of aggression against a sovereign and independent state,” despite Moscow’s own full-scale war in Ukraine.
Iran has been one of Russia’s [closest partners](https://kyivindependent.com/iran-russia-dependence-amid-us-strikes/) since the start of the full-scale war. Tehran supplied Moscow with Shahed-type attack drones, which Russia later adapted into its own Geran-series drones for repeated strikes on Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure.
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