Trump Doubts Russia's Iran Support, Will Ask Putin

"If they have, it has been very unimpactful": Trump says will ask Putin regarding Zelenskyy's claim of Russia helping Iran

Washington, DC, July 28

Zelenskyy on Saturday accused Moscow of providing satellite intelligence to Iran to facilitate strikes on US military outposts and Gulf state facilities, while also revealing that Moscow is preparing to receive 30,000 North Korean troops to bolster its forces.

Speaking with the reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump reiterated that the US has "knocked the hell out of Iran" to assert Washington's dominance in the conflict, and claimed that the Islamic Republic is losing despite Russia's aid, if any.

"We'll find out if that's true. I'll ask Putin about it. We'll find out," Trump said.

"It hasn't had much impact because we've knocked the hell out of it (Iran)...They may be providing support, but if they are, it hasn't worked out because they (Iran) have no army, they have no air force, they have no navy, they have nothing," he remarked.

The US President further deemed Russian aid "unimpactful" by citing the US' military actions against Venezuela, which he said had "all Russian equipment."

"They (Russia) gave Venezuela a lot of equipment. Venezuela had all Russian equipment. How did that work? Not too good," Trump added.

While expressing disagreement with Zelenskyy's claim against Moscow, Trump mockingly stated that the Russian support, if any, has been ineffective.

"I don't think they've been doing it, certainly not at a high level. And if they have, it has been very unimpactful," he said.

His remarks come after Zelenskyy, in his most detailed warning, shared on X, revealed that Ukrainian intelligence has tracked active Russian satellite surveillance over US military bases and Gulf state infrastructure, which he said is subsequently passed to Iran.

"I will instruct our intelligence to share with our partners the information we have regarding Russia's new assistance to the Iranian regime," Zelenskyy stated. "Since the beginning of July, we have recorded active Russian satellite surveillance of the Gulf states and U.S. military facilities located there. These images subsequently appear in Iran."

Highlighting a direct link between Russian intelligence collection and Iranian military actions, the Ukrainian leader noted that there is a "clear correlation between Russia's satellite imagery of these sites and Iranian strikes - both before the attacks, in preparation for them, and afterward, to assess the damage inflicted."

Zelenskyy specified that on July 19 and 20 alone, Russian satellites focused on four regional air bases, two in Bahrain, one in Jordan, and one in Kuwait.

— ANI