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Trump Downplays Russia Sharing Intel 03/09 06:24
DORAL, Fla. (AP) -- President Donald Trump said Saturday that it was
inconsequential if Russia has 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 has unsettled the global economy.
Trump stopped short of confirming reports by The Associated Press and other
news outlets that U.S. intelligence officials believe Russia has provided Iran
with such targeting information. But if Moscow is passing on such details, he
said Iran was getting 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's spending 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, has 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 earlier this week
that it was temporarily allowing 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 charge that Trump was
giving 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 post on X that
"weakness towards Russia is appalling."
Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., in his own X 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 has 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 was cutting tariffs on India after their officials
agreed to reduce its reliance on cheap Russian crude.
India has taken advantage of reduced Russian oil prices as much of the world
has sought to isolate Moscow for its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The price of oil has surged higher and shows no signs of halting a week into
a war that the U.S. and Israel launched and has widened through the Middle East
as Tehran strikes back. Ships that carry roughly 20 million barrels of oil a
day are unable to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of
the Persian Gulf that is bordered on its north side by Iran.
The shipping disruption and damage to key Middle East oil and gas facilities
has 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 that "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."
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