President Trump is clear about the threat posed by Iran, but seems to view Russia through Kremlin-colored lenses. Perhaps he needs an intelligence briefing on the extent of Russian aid to Iran. Vladimir Putin recently hosted the Iranian Foreign Minister in Saint Petersburg, and evidence is mounting that the Kremlin has helped Iran with intelligence to target Americans – writes the WSJ in its editorial.
The German Foreign Minister recently stated that Russia is “evidently supporting Iran with information on potential targets,” and our sources say the same. […]
While President Trump was trying to dismantle Iran’s drone, missile, and nuclear programs, the Russian foreign intelligence service compiled a list of Iranian military installations, uranium sites, and other locations monitored by American reconnaissance satellites, according to a recent report by the German publication Stern. Moscow shared the information with Tehran, which may have helped it evacuate “potentially vulnerable facilities,” the report states.
Russia has improved Iran’s original design to make Shahed drones more lethal and harder to intercept. The European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, said last month that “Iranian drones used against our Gulf partners likely incorporate Russian technological upgrades.” […]
The Financial Times and the Associated Press recently reported that Russia is shipping new drones to Iran, citing anonymous Western officials. At the end of March, Israel conducted an attack against Iranian naval facilities used to move weapons between Iran and Russia through the Caspian Sea. Berman told U.S. lawmakers that Russia also provided Iran with “tactical advice” based on what it learned in Ukraine, including “guidance on how many drones to deploy for attack and at what altitudes.”
After the United States targeted Iranian nuclear sites last June, Russia concluded a $589 million deal to supply Tehran with advanced portable air defense systems, as Behnam Ben Taleblu of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies recently told Congress. The 500 shoulder-fired units Russia will provide by 2029 are similar to the type Iran used last month to shoot down an American F-15 fighter jet and its crew.
Over the past three years, Russia has helped Iran put eight satellites with both civilian and military applications into low Earth orbit, Taleblu said. In 2023, a spokesperson for the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency told NBC News that Russia “has probably sent technicians to assist Tehran” with “some aspects of its missile programs” and space launch vehicle efforts using technology similar to that of intercontinental ballistic missiles.
It is difficult to reconcile these facts with the Trump administration’s decision to extend the exemption from sanctions on Russian oil amid the war in Iran. Trump may want “strategic stability” with Russia, but Putin wants to harm the United States and its allies.
(Excerpt from the foreign press review by eprcomunicazione)
