U.S. officials have concluded that Moscow is covertly aiding Iran with space-based surveillance data and advanced drone tactics, though the scale of this assistance remains far smaller than what Washington has provided Ukraine, Carnegie analysts have argued in Foreign Affairs, "Hvylya" reports.
The Washington Post and CNN first reported the intelligence sharing. According to analysts Alexander Gabuev, Nicole Grajewski, and Sergey Vakulenko, such assistance "leaves fewer visible traces than transfers of aircraft or missile batteries, which makes it harder to track and easier to deny." But its impact, they argue, "surely pales in comparison to the multiyear, U.S.-led intelligence assistance program that enabled Ukrainian armed forces to kill thousands of Russian soldiers since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022."
The space domain represents the most consequential area of Russian-Iranian security cooperation. Russian launch infrastructure and orbital expertise have been critical to Iran's ballistic missile development program. In 2023, then CIA Director William Burns warned that Russian technicians were "working directly on Iran's space launch vehicle program and broader missile development efforts."
The Kremlin's reluctance to offer more visible support stems from multiple constraints. Moscow is engaged in negotiations with the Trump administration over ending the Ukraine war and cannot afford to provoke Washington. The Gulf countries now under Iranian attack - particularly the UAE and Saudi Arabia - are important Russian partners in their own right. The UAE serves as a logistical and financial hub for Russian interests, while Saudi Arabia is the Kremlin's key partner in OPEC+.
Also read: Netanyahu Requests Call With Zelensky to Discuss Iranian Drone Defense.