President Donald Trump said Saturday it would make little difference even if Russia had provided intelligence to Iran to help target American military personnel and assets in the Middle East, as the week-old conflict continues to escalate.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One while travelling to Miami, Trump downplayed reports that Moscow may have shared targeting information with Tehran. “If you take a look at what’s happened to Iran in the last week, if they’re getting information, it’s not helping them much,” Trump said.
The president stopped short of confirming reports by news organisations, including The Associated Press, that US intelligence officials believe Russia has provided such information to Iran. Trump’s remarks came after he attended the dignified transfer ceremony for six US Army reservists who were killed in a drone strike in Kuwait a day after the US and Israel launched military operations against Iran.
Asked whether Russia assisting Iran would affect his view of US-Russia relations, Trump brushed off the concern. “They’d say we do it against them. Wouldn’t they say that we do it against them?” he said. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Kyiv has received US intelligence support to defend against Russian missile attacks and to strike certain Russian targets.
Trump’s comments also came amid criticism of the administration’s decision to temporarily allow India to continue buying Russian crude oil until April 4, despite sanctions imposed after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The waiver has drawn bipartisan criticism in Washington. Representative Don Bacon called the move “appalling” in a post on X, while Representative Ted Lieu urged Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to reverse the decision.
“Reverse your decision to lift oil sanctions on Russia. It is traitorous conduct for you to help Russia,” Lieu wrote. “Meanwhile, Russia is assisting Iran in targeting American troops.” The exemption for India came as global oil prices surged following the US–Israel war with Iran and concerns grew over supply disruptions in the Middle East.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz — a critical route for about 20 million barrels of oil per day — has been severely disrupted, affecting exports from several major oil producers. Trump said his administration is monitoring oil prices but did not signal immediate plans to release supplies from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
“We’ve got a lot of oil. Our country has a tremendous amount,” he said. “There’s a lot of oil out there. That’ll get healed very quickly.”
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