WASHINGTON — Russia has provided Iran with information that could help Tehran strike American warships, aircraft and other assets in the region, according to two officials familiar with U.S. intelligence on the matter.
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 on 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 that have wreaked havoc in the Middle East, including Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis.
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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt walks to speak with reporters at the White House, March 6, in Washington.
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.
Asked whether Russia would go beyond political support and offer military assistance to Iran, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there has been no such request from Tehran.
"We are in dialogue with the Iranian side, with representatives of the Iranian leadership, and will certainly continue this dialogue," he said Friday.
Pushed on whether Moscow has provided any military or intelligence assistance to Tehran since the Iran war's start, he refrained from comment.
Russia has tightened its relationship with Iran as it looked for badly needed missiles and drones to utilize in its four-year war Ukraine.
The Biden administration declassified intelligence findings that showed Iran supplies Moscow with attack drones and has assisted the Kremlin with building a drone-manufacturing factory.
The former U.S. administration also accused Iran of transferring short-range ballistic missiles to Russia for its war in Ukraine.
Details about the U.S. intelligence were first reported by the Washington Post.
Asked whether the revelation had shaken Trump's faith in Putin's ability to cut any peace deal in the Russia-Ukraine war, Leavitt said, "I think the president would say that peace is still an achievable objective with respect to the Russia-Ukraine war."
Photos show US-Israeli strikes and Iran's response
Large fire and plume of smoke is visible after, according to the authorities, debris of an Iranian intercepted drone hit the Fujairah oil facility, in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
The sun sets behind a plume of smoke rising after a U.S.–Israeli military strike in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
The sun sets behind a plume of smoke rising after a U.S.–Israeli military strike in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
An Iranian flag is placed among the ruins of a police station struck Monday during the U.S.–Israeli military campaign in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Residents and officials attend the funeral of people killed in what Iranian officials said was an Israeli-U.S. strike Feb. 28 on a girls' elementary school in Minab, Iran, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (Abbas Zakeri/Mehr News Agency via AP)
A woman throws rose petals on the coffins during funeral of mostly children killed in what Iranian officials said was an Israeli-U.S. strike Feb. 28 on a girls' elementary school in Minab, Iran, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (Amirhossein Khorgooei/ISNA via AP)
Coffins holding the bodies of mostly children are prepared for the funeral of those killed in what Iranian officials said was an Israeli-U.S. strike Feb. 28 at a girls' elementary school in Minab, Iran, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (Amirhossein Khorgooei/ISNA via AP)
A woman crosses almost deserted square with a billboard at rear showing a portrait of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the U.S.–Israeli military campaign, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Large fire and plume of smoke is visible after, according to the authorities, debris of an Iranian intercepted drone hit the Fujairah oil facility, in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Smoke rises on the skyline after an explosion in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026.(AP Photo)
People watch as smoke rises on the skyline after an explosion in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026.(AP Photo)
Paramedics evacuate wounded people from the site of a deadly Iranian missile strike in Beit Shemesh, Israel Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
A black plume of smoke rises from a warehouse at the industrial area of Sharjah City in the United Arab Emirates following reports of Iranian strikes in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
A man walks away after watching as a black plume of smoke rises from a warehouse in the industrial area of Sharjah City, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, March 1, 2026, following reports of Iranian strikes in Dubai. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Israeli security forces inspect a damaged road after a missile launched from Iran struck Jerusalem, Sunday, March 1, 2026.(AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
A man holds an Iranian flag as he looks at the damaged façade of Gandhi Hospital, which was hit Sunday when a strike also struck a state TV communications tower and nearby buildings across the street during the ongoing joint U.S.–Israeli military campaign in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Clerics and other government supporters mourn in a gathering after state TV officially announced the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Government supporters gather in mourning after state TV officially announced the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Rescue workers and military personnel survey the scene of a direct hit a day after an Iranian missile struck in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
A plume of smoke rises after a strike in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Leah Guttmann holds her son, Teddy, as other people take shelter in an underground parking garage while air-raid sirens warn of incoming missiles launched by Iran toward Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Rescue workers and military personnel operate at the scene where several people were killed in an Iranian missile strike in Beit Shemesh, Israel Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
An Israeli rescue personal carries a child after missiles attack from Iran hit in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
An explosion is seen as an Iranian missile directly hits a building in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Tomer Neuberg)
Rescue workers bandage a wounded man and provide first aid at the site of a direct hit from an Iranian missile strike in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Tomer Neuberg)
Firefighters try to extinguish flames in a building after a direct hit by an Iranian missile strike in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Tomer Neuberg)
Officers from Israel's Home Front Command search through the rubble of a damaged apartment building after an Iranian missile strike, in Tel Aviv, Israel, early Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Officers from Israel's Home Front Command search through the rubble of a damaged apartment building after an Iranian missile strike in Tel Aviv, Israel, early Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Government supporters mourn during a gathering after state TV officially announced the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, shown in the poster, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Firemen and rescue workers inspect the site of an explosion at the Fairmont The Palm Hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
This image provided by Airbus shows the strike on Iranian Supreme Leader's compound on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026 in Iran. (Pléiades Neo (c) Airbus DS 2026 via AP)
This image from video provided by U.S. Central Command shows a missile being launched from a U.S. Navy ship in support of Operation Epic Fury on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (U.S. Central Command via AP)
Rescue workers and residents search through the rubble in the aftermath of what Iranian officials said was an Israeli-U.S. strike on a girls' elementary school in Minab, Iran, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (Abbas Zakeri/Mehr News Agency via AP)
A man hold a children's backpack as rescue workers and residents search through the rubble in the aftermath of what Iranian officials said was an Israeli-U.S. strike on a girls' elementary school in Minab, Iran, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (Abbas Zakeri/Mehr News Agency via AP)
Traces of an air defense missile interception are seen, left, over Jerusalem's Old City, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
An incoming projectile explodes over the water as Israel issues a nationwide alert following its strikes on Iran, in Haifa Bay, northern Israel, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
People rush to take shelter as warning sirens sound following missile fired towards Israel, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
People take shelter in an underground metro station as air raid sirens warn of incoming strikes by Iran, in Ramat Gan, Israel, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
The flare of a projectile is seen over the skyline of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
Associated Press writers Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow and Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this report.

