Trump downplays Russian intel to Iran
From left, President Donald trump speaks to reporters Saturday as White house special envoy to the middle east Steve Witkoff and defense secretary Pete Hegseth listen aboard air Force one en route to Miami.
DORAL, Fla. — President Donald Trump said Saturday that it was inconsequential if Russia provided Iran with information to help Tehran target U.S. military personnel and assets in the Middle East as the week-old war rages.
The president dismissed the import of such information-sharing after he attended the dignified transfer for six Army reservists who were killed in a drone strike in Kuwait the day after the U.S. and Israel launched a war on Iran that unsettled the global economy.
Trump stopped short of confirming reports by news outlets that U.S. intelligence officials believe Russia provided Iran with such targeting information. If Moscow is passing on such details, he said, Iran got little out of it.
"If you take a look at what's happened to Iran in the last week, if they're getting information, it's not helping them much," Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he flew to Miami, where he planned to spend the rest of the weekend.
The president also waved off a question about how Russia assisting Iran in such a way might affect his view of the U.S.-Russia relationship.
"They'd say we do it against them," Trump responded. "Wouldn't they say that we do it against them?"
Ukraine, in the four years since it was invaded by Russia, received U.S. intelligence to help defend against incoming missiles from Russia as well as to help Kyiv hit certain Russian targets.
Downplaying the significance of Russia handing off battlespace intelligence to Iran came after the U.S. Treasury Department announced this past week that it would allow India to keep buying crude oil and petroleum products from Russia for a month, until April 4.
The administration decision to grant the world's most populous country a temporary exemption faced bipartisan blowback. Critics said Trump gave Russia a break that will provide Moscow with badly needed revenue as it looks to keep funding its war machine.
Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., condemned the move, saying in a social media post that "weakness towards Russia is appalling."
Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., in his own post directed at Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, also decried the administration's decision.
"Reverse your decision to lift oil sanctions on Russia. It is traitorous conduct for you to help Russia," Lieu said. "Meanwhile, Russia is assisting Iran in targeting American troops."
Trump decided to give India leeway on oil purchases from Russia as global oil prices surge and investors across sectors worry about how long the Iran war will last.
The waiver for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government followed Trump announcing weeks ago that he cut tariffs on India after its officials agreed to reduce reliance on cheap Russian crude.
India took advantage of reduced Russian oil prices as much of the world sought to isolate Moscow for its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The price of oil surged higher and shows no signs of halting a week into a war that the U.S. and Israel launched and widened through the Middle East as Tehran struck back. Ships that carry about 20 million barrels of oil a day are unable to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf bordered to the north by Iran.
The shipping disruption and damage to key Middle East oil and gas facilities interrupted supplies from some of the world's largest oil producers.
Asked whether he was willing to take other steps to ease oil prices, Trump said, "if there were some, I would do it, just to take a little of the pressure off."
He appeared Saturday to wave off, at least for now, the possibility of tapping the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve, saying the U.S. has a "lot of oil."
The reserve — a supply of oil that the U.S. government can tap in case of emergencies — held more than 415 million barrels as of the end of last month, up from about 395 million barrels at this time in 2025. In total, when full, the SPR can hold more than 700 million barrels.
"We've got a lot of oil. Our country has a tremendous amount," Trump said. "There's a lot of oil out there. That'll get healed very quickly."
