Russia has reaffirmed its alliance with Iran and is reportedly providing intelligence to the Houthis as they attack U.S. allies in the Gulf.
Among the most infuriating things about the Trump–Putin bromance is that it’s a one-way street. While the American president is smitten, the Russian dictator never loses sight of his objective to undermine the United States and sow discord in our body politic.
Ten days ago, as Trump emissaries were having cordial meetings with Vladimir Putin and trying to browbeat Ukrainian officials into surrendering on Putin’s terms, Putin decided that it was the perfect time for his longtime foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, to visit Iran — you know, the enemy against whom Trump launched a war (over its nuclear program and long history of anti-American aggression) and is trying to reduce to a pariah. As you’d expect, it was a love-in: Lavrov reaffirmed the Kremlin’s support for Tehran, enjoyed photo ops with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and asserted that “Iran’s struggle against the aggression unleashed on it is a just cause.” As he clarified, he was referring to what he described as “unprovoked U.S.-Israeli aggression against Iran.”
On top of that, we now have yesterday’s report by the Institute for the Study of War:
Russia is actively supporting Houthi operations to disrupt global energy markets by providing the Houthis with satellite imagery of Saudi oil and military infrastructure. A Switzerland-based geospatial intelligence firm told the Associated Press on October 28 that it has consistently observed Russian military satellites positioned above major Saudi energy and military sites in the days prior to and following Houthi drone and missile strikes on Saudi Arabia. Russian satellite activity followed a similar pattern around attacks on Saudi infrastructure originating from Iraq, where the Houthis maintain a presence and have launched attacks on Saudi Arabia with Iraqi militias. A Saudi official and a high-ranking Houthi official separately told the Associated Press that Russia is providing satellite-based targeting intelligence to the Houthis, reportedly through Iranian military advisers who are operating in Yemen. Russian pre- and post-strike imagery very likely enables the Houthis and Iranian military advisers to conduct battle damage assessments of their strikes. The geospatial intelligence firm observed 40 instances of Russian satellite positioning over Saudi military and energy sites between July 1 and October 19, including the September 10 drone strike on the Saudi East-West Pipeline. Russian support is enabling the Iranian-supported Houthi campaign to constrain Saudi Arabia’s ability to export oil during a global energy crisis that Iran has caused by attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Russian support for Houthi efforts to disrupt Saudi energy exports is consistent with long-standing Russian support for Iran and its regional partners, particularly the Houthis. Russia previously provided the Houthis with satellite-based targeting intelligence to help the group attack US vessels and international shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in 2023 and 2024, for example. [Emphasis in original, footnotes omitted.]
I can see that many people connected to the president, his family, and his emissaries (who happen also to be his private business partners) are very excited about the financial opportunities that could flow from the business deals that Trump wants to make with Putin’s regime. I’m just wondering what America gets out of this arrangement.