Russia is providing the Iranians with information to help attack U.S. forces and targets in the Middle East, The Washington Post first reported on Friday, citing three officials familiar with the intelligence.
The development marks the first sign a major U.S. adversary is participating in the conflict. Russia's reported involvement --- even if indirect --- signals the war now features one of America's leading nuclear-armed rivals with sophisticated intelligence capabilities.
Well-placed sources with knowledge would not steer Fox News away from the Post's report.
“The Iranian regime is being absolutely crushed. Their ballistic missile retaliation is decreasing every day, their navy is being wiped out, their production capacity is being demolished, and proxies are hardly putting up a fight," White House principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said in a statement to Fox News. "Operation Epic Fury is meeting or surpassing all of its goals, and the United States will continue to dominate.”
The reporting suggests the Russians are hoping to use a page from the U.S. playbook and attempt to tie the U.S. down in the Mideast, depleting U.S. weapons stockpiles by helping give the Iranians intelligence that helps with their targeting of U.S. forces. This is the strategy the U.S. used after Russia invaded Ukraine, while avoiding putting U.S. boots on the ground in Ukraine.The Russians now appear to be doing the same with the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
