'We know who's talking to who': US defence secy Pete Hegseth on reports of Russia aiding Iran

Reacting to reports that Russia is providing intelligence to Iran amid the Middle East conflict, US secretary of war Pete Hegseth stated that the United States has the “best intelligence” in the world and knows “who is talking to who.”

Also Read: Russia helping Iran? Moscow providing real time intelligence to Tehran on American military assets

"Oh we're tracking everything. Our commanders are aware of everything. We have the best intelligence in the world. We're aware of who's talking to who, why are they talking to them, how accurate that information might be. We know what's going on," Hegseth told CBS News' Major Garett.






Praising Donald Trump, he called the US president someone with an “incredible knack for knowing how to mitigate those things.”

“The American people can be assured that their commander-in-chief is fully aware of who is talking to who. This shouldn’t be happening, whether in public or through back channels,” the secretary of war added.



When asked whether Washington would ask Moscow to stop providing intelligence to Tehran, Hegseth highlighted Trump’s “unique relationship” with world leaders and brought his predecessor Joe Biden into the discussion.

Also Read | After Russia's intel support for Iran, 'Chinese' whispers of financial aid to Tehran? What report says“President Trump, as people have seen, has a unique relationship with a lot of world leaders, where he can get things done that other presidents, certainly Joe Biden, never could have. Messages definitely can be delivered,” he said.

On whether Russia's alleged assistance to Iran puts US troops in danger, Hegseth replied that no one is putting the Americans in danger, and it is the Americans who are putting "other guys" in danger, saying "that's our job."

“The only people who should be worried are the Iranians who think that 'they're going to live,'” he concluded.

Earlier, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also downplayed the report that Russia is providing Iran with targeting information about US forces in the Middle East.

"It clearly is not making a difference with respect to the military operations in Iran because we are completely decimating them. We are achieving the military objectives of this operation and that is going to continue," Leavitt told reporters.

The Washington Post, citing officials familiar with the intelligence, reported that Russia has provided Iran with the locations of US military assets, including ships and aircraft.

Six US service members were killed in a drone attack on a US base in Kuwait on Sunday and the CIA station in Saudi capital Riyadh has also been hit.

According to The Post, China did not appear to be aiding Tehran's defenses.

Russia and China have longstanding diplomatic and trade ties with Iran, while Russia has close military links to the Islamic Republic.

Both Moscow and Beijing have criticised the US-Israeli war against Iran.

(With AFP inputs)