President Donald Trump has suggested that Vladimir Putin and Russia may be providing limited assistance to Iran as the conflict between Iran, the United States, and Israel intensifies.
Speaking in an interview with Fox News, Trump acknowledged reports that Russia could be sharing intelligence with Iran but said any support might be minimal.
“I think he may be helping them a bit, yeah,” Trump said when asked whether Putin was assisting Tehran.
The US president also noted that Washington has been supporting Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia, suggesting both sides could be backing opposing forces.
“He probably thinks we’re helping Ukraine. They do it, and we do it,” Trump added.
Reports of Intelligence Sharing
According to reports by The Wall Street Journal, Russia may have shared intelligence with Iran that includes the locations of US military ships and aircraft across the Middle East.
Such information could potentially help Iran guide missile or drone attacks on American targets in the region.
Iran’s own satellite capabilities are limited, meaning that data collected by Russian satellites could significantly improve Tehran’s intelligence gathering.
However, Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy for the Middle East, said Russian officials had assured Washington that Moscow was not providing intelligence to Iran.
Trump’s comments come shortly after the United States temporarily eased sanctions on Russian oil in an attempt to stabilise global energy prices as the Middle East conflict enters its third week.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent initially described the move as a short-term and narrowly targeted measure, though he later acknowledged it could inevitably provide some financial benefit to Russia.
The Kremlin welcomed the decision, with Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev saying it showed the importance of Russian oil to global energy stability.
Meanwhile, US intelligence support has also been used in Ukraine to assist Kyiv in targeting Russian military infrastructure, although that assistance was briefly paused last year following tensions between US and Ukrainian officials.
