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A U.S. War Department official confirmed to Newsmax on Thursday (local time) that Russia is providing Iran with targeting information needed to attack U.S. military personnel and facilities in the Middle East.

The news, first reported by The Washington Post, indicates that Iran, one of America's primary nuclear-armed adversaries, is becoming involved in the rapidly escalating conflict in the Middle East.

Iran has provided Russia with Shahed drones to attack Ukraine for years, and now Russian intelligence is reciprocating by assisting Iran in retaliatory attacks across the Middle East.

Iran has provided Russia with Shahed drones to attack Ukraine for years, and now Russian intelligence is reciprocating by assisting Iran in retaliatory attacks across the Middle East.

The U.S. has sunk at least 30 Iranian ships so far, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned Thursday that the skies over Iran will soon see a significant increase in firepower.

U.S. Central Command Commander Brad Cooper said Thursday that Iranian ballistic missile attacks have dropped 90% and drone attacks 83% since the first day of the war.

Iran stated that the United States, which sank one of its ships with a torpedo this week, will "live to regret it deeply."

President Donald Trump vowed late Thursday in a phone call with NBC News that he would "crush and dismantle" the Iranian regime, adding that he was taking steps to ensure that his designated potential successors would survive the war.

Hegseth told reporters on Monday that the war was not a "so-called regime change war," but added that a regime change had occurred. On Thursday, he told reporters that Trump would have a role in Iran's future leadership.

Hegseth stated, "Ultimately, I think the president has a significant say in who will run Iran, considering the operations that are currently underway," adding, "So our objectives do not expand. We know exactly what we are trying to achieve."

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi blamed the United States for the war, claiming in an interview with NBC that the Islamic Republic had negotiated twice with the U.S. administration, but was attacked during negotiations both times.

Hegseth and other administration officials have said that the U.S. does not believe Tehran is willing to abandon its nuclear weapons program to negotiate, and has not been willing to negotiate.

While the U.S. government has made it clear that it is engaged in operations to protect its closest allies in the war between Iran and Israel, the left-wing media has continuously tried to portray the situation as a war between Iran and the United States.

U.S. NNP=Chief Reporter Sung Ku Hong / Special Dispatch NNP info@newsandpost.com