During the ongoing conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran, Russia is reportedly providing significant intelligence and logistical assistance to Tehran. While Moscow has avoided direct military intervention, its support has been critical in helping Iran target US and Israeli assets in the Middle East.
Russia is reportedly providing Iran with real-time intelligence to facilitate more precise strikes against US and Israeli forces, the Washington Post reported.
While Iran previously supplied Shahed drones for Russia’s use in Ukraine, Russia is now reportedly shipping its own modernized, mass-produced versions of these drones back to Iran.
Intelligence sharing and targeting
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Western intelligence, Russia has used its Liana spy satellite system to provide images of US air bases, including those in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait.
Reports indicate that Moscow is sharing the precise locations of American warships and aircraft operating in the Gulf.
Russia has supplied Iran with Krasukha electronic warfare systems, which can interfere with radar and satellite signals used by Western reconnaissance platforms.
Military and drone cooperation
On top of supplying their modernized drones to Iran, Western intelligence suggests Russia is sharing specific drone tactics developed during the war in Ukraine to help Iran penetrate sophisticated air defense systems.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed that Moscow continues to supply Iran with “certain types of military products” under existing technical cooperation agreements.
Diplomatic and financial support
Diplomatically, Russia (often alongside China) has blocked or abstained from UN Security Council resolutions condemning Iranian actions, framing them as responses to “unjustified aggression”.
Surging oil prices caused by the war have provided a financial windfall for the Kremlin. Additionally, the US has partially lifted certain sanctions on Russian oil to mitigate the economic impact of the Gulf conflict.
As both nations face heavy Western sanctions, they have increasingly sought to integrate their financial systems, including connecting their national messaging services to bypass SWIFT.
Iran’s SEPAM system is now connected to Russia’s SPFS (System for Transfer of Financial Messages). This link allows 52 Iranian bank branches and over 100 Russian and Eurasian institutions to communicate without Western oversight.
Over 80% of bilateral trade is now conducted in national currencies (Rials and Rubles), completely removing the US dollar from these transactions.
The Iranian-Russian Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, signed in early 2025, has solidified these ties across the political and economic sectors.
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