Newsletters
European countries are publicly and privately telling American diplomats that Russia is directly and materially helping Iran's war effort beyond what the U.S. will publicly acknowledge, including satellite intelligence on U.S. military facilities and a drone shipment reportedly close to completion.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also claimed that Russian satellites have photographed U.S. bases across the Middle East in Iran's interests, as EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told G7 leaders that Russia is helping Iran "to kill Americans."
Zelenskyy said in a social media post Saturday that an intelligence briefing showed Russian satellites captured images of the U.S.-U.K. joint military facility on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, Kuwait International Airport, Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, and locations in Türkiye and Qatar, all photographed "in the interests of Iran."
Earlier this week, he said Ukraine had "irrefutable evidence" that Russia is providing signals intelligence and electronic intelligence capabilities to the Iranian regime.
Multiple sources, including a senior U.S. official with direct knowledge, told CBS News on March 6 that Russia is providing intelligence to Iran regarding U.S. positions in the Middle East.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told G7 leaders Thursday: "We see that Russia is helping Iran with intelligence to target Americans, to kill Americans, and Russia is also supporting Iran now with the drones so that they can attack neighboring countries and also U.S. military bases."
UK Secretary of Defense John Healey said he sees the "hidden hand of Putin" behind Iran's war effort.
France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot publicly described the relationship as "two-way cooperation," saying: "There are reasons to believe that Russia is now supporting Iran's military efforts, which appear to be directed in particular at American targets."
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul accused Russia of helping Iran identify potential strike targets, saying Putin is "cynically hoping that the escalation in the Middle East will divert our attention from his crimes in Ukraine.
This calculation must not succeed. We see very clearly how closely the two conflicts are intertwined."
U.K. Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper said she was "deeply concerned about the links between Russia and Iran that have been longstanding in terms of shared capabilities," including drones.
European intelligence agencies believe Russia is in the final stages of preparing to supply drones to Iran for use in the war, a senior European official told The Guardian.
The Financial Times previously reported that Western intelligence found Russia was close to completing a phased shipment of drones, medicine, and food to Iran, potentially deliverable by the middle of next week.
Iranian and Russian officials reportedly began secretly discussing drone deliveries days after the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran in late February.
Russia has already been providing intelligence sharing with Tehran, the European official said, but the upcoming drone delivery would mark the first evidence of lethal support since the start of the war.
Russia has been producing one-way attack drones based on Iranian Shahed designs for use in Ukraine, and Russia and Iran signed a strategic partnership agreement last year. Moscow has already sent more than 13 tonnes of medicine to Iran through Azerbaijan.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in response: "There are a lot of fakes going around right now. One thing is true: we are continuing our dialogue with the Iranian leadership."
A U.K. official told CBS News on March 28 that Russian-Iranian defense cooperation has grown significantly in recent years, and Iranian technological advancement is now visible in attacks across the Middle East.
The UK assesses that Iran transferred Shahed drone production know-how to Russia, which in turn helped Iran refine its own drone warfare capabilities, a two-way technology exchange.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
