Russia is providing Iran with targeting intelligence to attack U.S. forces in the Middle East, according to three anonymous officials, marking the first indication that a major U.S. adversary is indirectly participating in the war. The assistance, which has not been previously reported, signals that the rapidly expanding conflict now features one of America’s chief nuclear-armed competitors with exquisite intelligence capabilities.

Targeting U.S. Military Assets

Since the war began Saturday, Russia has passed Iran the locations of U.S. military assets, including warships and aircraft, said the three officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity. One of the officials described the effort as ‘pretty thorough,’ indicating a coordinated and detailed exchange of intelligence.

The extent of Russia’s targeting assistance to Iran was not entirely clear. The Iranian military’s own ability to locate U.S. forces has been degraded less than a week into the fighting, the officials said. Six U.S. troops were killed and several others were injured by an Iranian drone attack Sunday in Kuwait, highlighting the immediate impact of this intelligence sharing.

Iran has fired thousands of one-way attack drones and hundreds of missiles at U.S. military positions, embassies, and civilians, even as the joint American-Israeli campaign has hit more than 2,000 Iranian targets—including ballistic missile sites, naval assets, and the country’s leadership. The White House spokeswoman, Anna Kelly, described the situation as ‘the Iranian regime being absolutely crushed,’ but did not address the role of Russian intelligence support.

Analysts Note Precision in Iranian Strikes

Analysts said that the sharing of intelligence would fit the pattern of Iran’s strikes against U.S. forces, including command and control infrastructure, radars, and temporary structures, like the one in Kuwait where six service members were killed. The CIA’s station at the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital, also was struck in recent days.

Dara Massicot, an expert on the Russian military at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, noted that Iran is ‘making very precise hits on early warning radars or over-the-horizon radars,’ targeting command and control systems. She added that the value of Russian satellite imagery, particularly from its advanced space capabilities, is significant for Iran, which lacks its own satellite constellation.

Nicole Grajewski, who studies Iran’s cooperation with Russia at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center, said that the sophistication of Iranian retaliatory strikes has been notable, both in what Tehran has targeted and in its ability to overwhelm U.S. and allied defenses. She noted that the quality of Iran’s strikes has improved even from its 12-day war with Israel last summer.

Strategic Calculus and Regional Dynamics

The Pentagon is quickly burning through its supply of precision arms and air defense interceptors, people familiar with the matter have told The Washington Post, highlighting concerns raised by Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as President Donald Trump deliberated whether to approve the operation. The administration has sought to downplay Caine’s assessment.

Russia’s assistance reshuffles how various countries have engaged in a proxy war since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Throughout that conflict, U.S. adversaries including Iran, China, and North Korea have provided Russia with either direct military aid or material support for Moscow’s vast defense industry. The United States has given Ukraine tens of billions of dollars’ worth of military equipment and shared intelligence on Russian positions to improve Kyiv’s targeting.

On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted on X that the Trump administration had requested assistance in helping protect against Iranian drones and that Kyiv would provide ‘specialists’ in response. Iran has been one of Russia’s chief backers during the Ukraine war, sharing the technology to produce cheap one-way attack drones that have repeatedly been used to overwhelm Kyiv’s air defenses and exhaust Western stocks of interceptors donated to protect Ukrainian cities.

‘The Russians are more than aware of the assistance that we’re giving the Ukrainians,’ said one of the officials familiar with Moscow’s support for Tehran. ‘I think they were very happy to try to get some payback.’ The quality of Russia’s intelligence collection is not on a par with America’s but still ranks among the world’s best, this person continued.

The Post has previously reported that despite the blow to one of its closest partners, the Kremlin sees possible advantages in a prolonged war between the U.S. and Iran, including higher oil revenue and an acute crisis that distracts America and Europe from the war in Ukraine. Iran, whose supreme leader was killed early in the conflict, could become the latest country to lose a pro-Russian government in recent years, following a Syrian uprising in late 2024 that ousted longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad and the U.S. military raid to seize Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January.

Still, the lack of direct military involvement from Moscow is in part a sign of its need to focus elsewhere, Massicot said. The Kremlin, she said, is ‘very much considering this is not their problem and not their war. From a strategic calculus perspective, Ukraine is still far and away the number one priority.’