CNN revealed Wednesday the extent of deep intelligence support Russia provided to Iran during its campaign against the United States. According to the report, the assistance included transmitting precise, detailed intelligence from Russian spy satellites that closely tracked American movements and assets across the Middle East. The accurate data passed from Moscow fed Tehran’s strike systems, enabling it to carry out targeted attacks against U.S. bases and targets throughout the region.
The tight coordination between satellite activity and missile launches was especially evident in the strike on the Prince Sultan Air Base, a joint U.S.-Saudi facility in central Saudi Arabia. During that attack, which wounded 12 American soldiers and caused heavy infrastructure damage, Iran also destroyed an advanced AWACS command and control aircraft worth hundreds of millions of dollars—even though it wasn’t parked in its regular location. The report states that 14 Russian satellites, including an advanced spy satellite, orbited over the base shortly before the strike, photographed the target, and were spotted communicating in place.
U.S. security officials fear this wasn’t an isolated incident but rather an ongoing pattern in which Russia provided similar intelligence in other cases, including information that aided an attack on a CIA asset in Riyadh. The alliance between Moscow and Tehran has tightened significantly since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with Iran supplying Russians with drones and military equipment. In return, Russia has given Tehran intelligence and technological support, while maritime supply routes in the Caspian Sea serve as a main artery for transferring the materiel.