Russia denies sharing intelligence with Iran

However, a Washington Post report claims that Moscow has given Tehran sensitive information about US military positions. The US response to this has been relatively restrained so far.

In an interview with CNBC's 'Money Movers' program on Tuesday, Steve Witkoff said that in a phone call with President Donald Trump last Monday, Russian leaders made it clear that they had not shared any intelligence with Iran. He said, 'We can believe what they said for now. Hopefully they are not really doing anything like that.'

Earlier, the Washington Post reported on Friday that Moscow had given Tehran sensitive intelligence, including information about the positions of US warships and military aircraft in the region.

However, Washington's response to this has been quite restrained so far. Then on Monday, Trump said that he had a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and that Putin told him in the phone call that he wanted to play a helpful role in Middle East issues. At the same time, Putin expressed his “unwavering support” for Iran’s new supreme leader.

Meanwhile, the United States has temporarily lifted sanctions on some Russian oil exports as the Iran war has sent crude prices soaring. The sanctions were originally imposed to cut off Russia’s funding for the Ukraine war.

White House press secretary Carolyn Levitt said at a briefing that both President Trump and his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, have sent a message to Russia that if they have indeed shared intelligence with Iran, it would not be acceptable to the United States and that they are not doing what they hope is happening.

Steve Witkoff, a businessman who has led U.S. negotiations with Russia and Iran in recent months, said that while Russia has denied any such information sharing, its statements should be taken as fact.

“I’m not an intelligence official, so I can’t say for sure,” he told CNBC. “But the Russians said in a phone call with the president yesterday that they did not do anything like that. That's what they're saying, so we can take their word for it for now.'

The White House said the decision was made to ease sanctions on Russian oil sales to India, in particular, because New Delhi had complied with US sanctions in the past.

Caroline Levitt said, 'We have temporarily allowed them to take Russian oil to address the temporary shortage in global oil supplies caused by the situation surrounding Iran.'

She added, 'We do not believe that this short-term measure will have a significant financial benefit to the Russian government at this time. Trump has faced criticism throughout his two terms for his close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This criticism has increased, especially after Putin ordered the start of a military operation in Ukraine.

However, Trump has always claimed that he is the only one capable of bringing Putin to talks to resolve the Ukraine war. Although his previous claim to end the war within 24 hours of taking office did not succeed in reality.

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