Russia is one of a small number countries that maintains friendly relations with Tehran, which has faced years of isolation over its nuclear programme and its support of proxy groups across the Middle East.
Russia has allegedly provided Iran with information that could help it strike American warships, aircraft and other assets in the region, two officials familiar with US intelligence said.
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The officials, who were not authorised to comment publicly on the sensitive matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity, cautioned that US intelligence has not uncovered that Russia is directing Iran on what to do with the information as the US and Israel and Iran fires retaliatory salvos at American assets and allies in the Persian Gulf.
Still, it's the first indication that Moscow has sought to get involved in the war that the US and Israel launched on Iran a week ago.
Russia is one of a small number countries that maintains friendly relations with Tehran, which has faced years of isolation over its nuclear programme and its support of proxy groups across the Middle East, including Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis.
The White House downplayed reports that Russia was sharing intelligence with Iran about US targets in the region.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Friday that "it clearly is not making any difference with respect to the military operations in Iran because we are completely decimating them."
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth in a CBS' "60 Minutes" interview on Friday said the US is "tracking everything" and factoring it into battle plans, when asked about the reports Russia was aiding Iran.
"The American people can rest assured their commander in chief is well aware of who's talking to who," he said. "And anything that shouldn't be happening, whether it's in public or back-channeled, is being confronted and confronted strongly."
Leavitt declined to say if Trump had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the reported intelligence sharing or whether he believed Russia should face repercussions, saying she would let the president speak about the issue himself.
Asked whether Russia would go beyond political support and offer military assistance to Iran, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said there has been no such request from Tehran.
"We are in dialogue with the Iranian side, with representatives of the Iranian leadership, and will certainly continue this dialogue," he said Friday.
Pushed on whether Moscow has provided any military or intelligence assistance to Tehran since the Iran war’s start, he refrained to comment.
Russia has tightened its relationship with Iran as it looked for badly needed missiles and drones to utilise in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The Biden administration declassified intelligence findings that showed Iran supplies Moscow with attack drones and has assisted the Kremlin with building a drone-manufacturing factory.
The former US administration also accused Iran of transferring short-range ballistic missiles to Russia for its war in Ukraine.
Details about the US intelligence were first reported by The Washington Post.
Asked whether the revelation had shaken Trump's faith in Putin’s ability to cut any peace deal in the Russia-Ukraine war, Leavitt said, "I think the president would say that peace is still an achievable objective with respect to the Russia-Ukraine war."
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the US and its allies in the Middle East are seeking Ukraine’s expertise in countering Iran’s Shahed drones.
Tehran has been supplying Russia with Shaheds for its war on Ukraine and are now utilising them in retaliatory attacks throughout the Gulf.
Zelenskyy says that he's spoken to the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait about possible cooperation.
"Ukraine knows how to defend against Shahed drone attacks because our cities have faced them almost every night," said Ukraine's ambassador to the United States, Olga Stefanishyna. "When our partners are in need, we are always ready to help."