Information
A Ukrainian intelligence assessment has found that Russian satellites conducted at least 24 surveys across 11 Middle Eastern countries between March 21 and 31, covering 46 sites including U.S. military bases, airports and oil fields. The imagery was shared with Iran, which then struck several of those sites with ballistic missiles and drones within days of them being surveyed. One notable example was Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, which was imaged by a Russian satellite before Iran struck it on March 27, hitting a U.S. E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft. A Western military source and a regional security source both told Reuters that their own intelligence pointed to the same pattern of Russian satellite activity and imagery sharing.
Beyond satellite support, the assessment also found that Russian and Iranian hacker groups were working together, with Iranian groups stepping up attacks on critical infrastructure and telecommunications companies in the Gulf since late February. Russian hacking groups such as Z-Pentest Alliance and NoName057(16) were found to be coordinating with Iran’s Handala Hack via Telegram, including sharing access credentials to control systems at Israeli energy facilities. The deeper cooperation between Russia and Iran follows the signing of a Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in January of last year, which includes a clause on intelligence sharing between the two countries.
Source: Reuters
So What
For those who have been following geopolitics closely, this will come as little surprise. Russia, while unable to provide direct military support such as troops or high end equipment, has been able to offer drone and intelligence support to Iran instead. Whether the U.S. will take issue with this report remains to be seen, as they may choose to call Russia out publicly, though it is equally possible they will dismiss it entirely, as they have done with similar reports in the past.
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