Russia Gave Iran Satellite Images of U.S. Base Before Attack

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told NBC News that Russian forces took satellite images of a U.S. air base in Saudi Arabia three times in the days before Iran attacked the site. During an interview in Doha, Qatar, Zelenskyy said he was "100 percent" confident that Russia was sharing that intelligence with Iran. The revelation exposes a direct military coordination between Moscow and Tehran that could reshape how American forces operate across the Middle East.

On Friday, Iranian missiles and drones hit the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, located about 96 kilometers southeast of Riyadh. The attack damaged multiple KC-135 tankers, which refuel U.S. aircraft in flight, and an E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control system aircraft. At least 15 American soldiers were wounded, with five in serious condition, according to unnamed sources briefed on the strikes. Neither the U.S. military nor Saudi Arabia has publicly commented on the incident.

The E-3 Sentry, or AWACS, is critical infrastructure for American air operations. The aircraft tracks drones, missiles, and aircraft from hundreds of kilometers away and carries a rotating radar dome with a range exceeding 375 kilometers. Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel John Venable told Wall Street Journal reporters that the attack "hurts the US ability to see what's happening in the Gulf and maintain situational awareness." Heather Penney, a former F-16 pilot and director of studies at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, called the loss "incredibly problematic, given how crucial these battle managers are to everything from airspace deconfliction, aircraft deconfliction, targeting and providing other lethal effects."

The U.S. has a fleet of 16 E-3 Sentry aircraft in service, and six have been deployed to bases in Europe and the Middle East during the conflict. The U.S. has reportedly lost 12 MQ-9 Reaper drones since the war began. Iranian strikes across military bases in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan, and Kuwait have caused damage estimated at $800 million, according to a March 22 report by the BBC and the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Kelly Grieco, a defense policy expert at the Stimson Center, told Air & Space Forces Magazine that "there are going to be coverage gaps" from the E-3 loss.

The U.S. and Israel launched military operations against Iran on February 28. Since then, at least 13 U.S. service members have been killed during combat operations and roughly 200 have been wounded. In Iran, at least 1,900 people have been killed and more than 18,000 injured, according to local health authorities. The Pentagon plans to request a $200 billion supplemental budget to replace damaged systems. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Pentagon is preparing options for the commander in chief but emphasized that "it does not mean the president has made a decision" about escalation.