US believes Russia is providing Iran with locations of American troops, sources say
An F-35C Lightning II, attached to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314, launches from the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in support of Operation Epic Fury, March 3, 2026. (US Navy)
(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. believes that Russia has been providing Iran the locations of American troops in the Middle East, including aircraft and ships, according to two people familiar with the intelligence.
The alleged assistance, first reported by The Washington Post, is alarming because it would enable the Iranians to target specific locations with ballistic missiles and drones, putting U.S. service members at risk.
When asked about the aid to Iran, an intelligence official confirmed that the U.S. believes Russia is supplying Tehran intelligence, but did not say exactly what type of information was being shared.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt did not deny the report on Friday, instead saying it didn’t matter because the U.S. was still winning the war.
“It clearly is not making a difference with respect to the military operations in Iran because we are completely decimating them,” Leavitt told reporters on Friday.
Leavitt added that the U.S. is achieving the military objectives of this operation, including destroying some 30 ships and crippling Iran’s ability to launch ballistic missiles.
“And that is going to continue because the United States military is the best and most, most lethal fighting force in the world,” she said.
Six U.S. service members were killed March 1 during an Iranian drone attack on a base in Kuwait. At least 10 other troops have been severely wounded in operations across the region.
The CIA declined to comment. The Defense Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Russia has not addressed the allegations. But Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said previously that Iran hasn’t asked for help.
“Our consistent position is well known to everyone, and there is no change,” Peskov said at a press briefing.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., appears on ABC News’ “This Week” on March 22, 2026. (ABC News)
(WASHINGTON) — As the war with Iran enters its fourth week, Republican Sen. Thom Tillis said the Trump administration must make its objectives of the operation clearer before Congress approves additional funding.
“What is the objective, the primary objective?” ABC News’ “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl asked Tillis in an interview that aired Sunday.
“I don’t know, and I think it’s a real problem,” the North Carolina senator said.
Praising last summer’s “Operation Midnight Hammer” when the U.S. military struck Iran’s nuclear facilities, Tillis said he “could see why we needed to finish some of the work and go back in,” but the weeks-long operation now is “ambiguous.”
“I don’t know what our long-term strategic goals are, but we’re going to need to know that,” Tillis said. “I generally support what the president’s doing in Iran, but if we’re going to get anything close to the $200 billion supplemental request, we got to get 60 votes, and we’re going to have to figure out how to accomplish that.”
The Pentagon is seeking $200 billion in funding, according to a senior administration official. While he said the topline number could move, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth confirmed Thursday that the department will request additional funding for the war, saying, “It takes money to kill bad guys.”
As the war rages on, Iran continues to block the critical Strait of Hormuz. A significant share of the world’s oil passes through the strait each day, and the blockage has surged global oil prices. Gas prices in the U.S. are up $1 per gallon on average since the war began Feb. 28, according to GasBuddy.
“Can’t all of a sudden walk away” President Donald Trump has mused about “winding down” the war soon and last week he suggested in a social media post that he may pull out of Iran before the Strait of Hormuz issues are resolved.
“I wonder what would happen if we ‘finished off’ what’s left of the Iranian Terror State, and let the Countries that use it, we don’t, be responsible for the so called ‘Strait?’ That would get some of our non-responsive ‘Allies’ in gear, and fast!!!” Trump posted Wednesday.
Tillis was critical of that option, arguing leaving the strait as it is harms U.S. allies in the region.
“We have a number of partners and allies in the region whose economic fortunes rests on the Strait of Hormuz being open,” Tillis said. “We’ve decided that we’re going to project power and try and produce good outcomes in the Middle East. You can’t all of a sudden walk away after you’ve kind of created the event and expect other people to pick it up and leave — and leave a good taste in their mouth.”
After Trump lashed out U.S. allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for not assisting the U.S. with opening the Strait of Hormuz, labeling them “cowards,” Tillis — the co-chair of the Senate NATO Observer Group — defended those allies’ decisions.
“I don’t think that they’re cowards. I think they’re people that weren’t consulted on a major military operation, and I’d have the same reaction if I was the head of state,” Tillis said.
“These folks love the United States,” he added. “But they don’t appreciate the way they’re being treated right now. And I can, I can absolutely understand that.”
“American lives will be lost” without NATO The North Carolina Republican also pushed back on Trump’s recent suggestion that he could leave NATO without consulting Congress.
“Well, that’s factually not true. The president of the United States cannot withdraw from NATO,” Tillis said. “American lives have been saved by the NATO alliance, and American lives will be lost without it.”
In June, Tillis announced he would not seek reelection this year. No longer concerned with having to run a campaign, the self-described “plain-spoken” senator has become even more so.
He didn’t vote for the Republicans’ tax overhaul and spending cuts bill. He’s not planning to vote for the “SAVE America Act,” a Trump priority. He called out Trump’s Justice Department for seeking indictments against Democrats Trump accused of seditious behavior for posting a video telling service members not to follow illegal orders, and he’s threatening to hold up any nominee to the Federal Reserve until the DOJ ends its probe of Chair Jerome Powell.
But no members of Trump’s administration have received more criticism from Tillis than Stephen Miller, the deputy chief of staff to the president and one of his top advisers on immigration, and outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Tillis has called the pair “sycophants” and called for Trump to fire Noem, which he ultimately did.
The president has praised Miller over the years. In October, he said he was “doing an unbelievable job” and told him, “The people of this country love you.”
But Tillis said he doesn’t think Miller is “particularly loyal” to the president.
“If the president thinks that Stephen Miller is worried about [Trump’s] legacy, he’s fooling himself. Stephen Miller is worried about his own legacy,” Tillis said.
A “healthy” relationship with Trump Still, Tillis told Karl he believes he has a “healthy relationship” with the president.
“There are aspects about this president that I admire and will always admire, but I do not admire bad advice, and I hate bad execution, and when I see it and I think it’s undermining the president of the United States’ agenda, then I’m going to call them out,” he said.
Tillis said his motivation for criticizing the administration and some of its policies are to help Republicans perform well in this year’s midterm elections.
“I’m not trying to undermine Republicans. I’m trying to undermine efforts that are going to make it very difficult for Republicans to get elected in November,” he said.
Asked by Karl why he feels liberated to speak out since announcing his retirement, Tillis had a simple answer.
“When people have said, ‘You seem a little bit more liberated.’ I said, ‘No, s—, Sherlock,'” Tillis said. “I no longer have to view things through a political lens.”
US President Donald Trump, during the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. The annual Davos gathering of political leaders, top executives and celebrities runs from Jan. 19-23. (Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(DAVOS, Switzerland) — President Donald Trump, speaking Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland amid heightened tensions with Europe, notably ruled out using military force to acquire Greenland.
“We probably won’t get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force where we would be, frankly, unstoppable. But I won’t do that,” Trump said.
“I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force,” Trump said.
Still, Trump said no other country can defend Greenland but the United States and said he is seeking “immediate negotiations to once again discuss the acquisition of Greenland by the United States.”
“I have tremendous respect for both the people of Greenland and the people of Denmark, tremendous respect. But every NATO ally has an obligation to be able to defend their own territory, and the fact is, no nation or group of nations is in any position to be able to secure Greenland other than the United States. We’re a great power,” Trump said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) arrives to testify during a confirmation hearing to be the next Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on March 18, 2026 in Washington, DC.(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s nomination to be the secretary of Homeland Security narrowly cleared a committee vote Thursday morning with the help of Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, teeing the Oklahoma Republican’s nomination up for a final vote on the Senate floor as soon as next week.
Mullin’s nomination advanced out of committee by a vote of 8-7. He needed a simple majority of votes to clear the committee.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
