Secretary of War Pete Hegseth made clear Tuesday that Russia should not intervene in the US and Israel’s war against Iran, one day after President Trump spoke by phone with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

“I was not on it, but those that were said it was a strong call, reaffirming, hopefully, the opportunity for some peace in Russia and Ukraine, and also a recognition that as pertains to this conflict, they should not be involved,” Hegseth told reporters Tuesday during a Pentagon press briefing. 

Late last week, multiple reports citing US officials stated that the Kremlin has been feeding Iran intelligence about US assets and positions, which Tehran is believed to have used to attack American defense systems in the Middle East. 

Special envoy Steve Witkoff has underscored Russia’s denials of reports that it has been feeding Iran critical intelligence. 

“We can take them at their word,” Witkoff told CNBC’s “Money Movers” on Tuesday when asked about those reports. 

“I can tell you that yesterday, on the call with the president, the Russians said they have not been sharing,” Witkoff added. “That’s what they said.”

Trump told reporters during a press conference in South Florida on Monday that while Putin “wants to be helpful” in ending the war with Iran, “I told him, ‘You can be more helpful by ending the war in Ukraine.'”

The president also boasted that the notorious Kremlin strongman was awed by the display of American military might unfolding in Iran. 

“We talked about that with President Putin. He was very impressed with what he saw,” Trump recounted of his conversation with the Russian leader about Operation Epic Fury. “You know, Iran [had] quite a powerful military.”

Publicly, Putin has expressed solidarity with Iran and recently congratulated the regime’s newly minted supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, on his appointment, despite Trump criticizing the son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a “lightweight” who he doesn’t believe “can live in peace.”

Iranian state media have indicated that the Khamenei scion may have been seriously injured in US and Israeli strikes on Iran, which also killed his father, mother and wife. Hegseth declined to comment on those reports.

Iran and Russia have long been close allies, with Tehran supplying Moscow with Shahed drones that have unleashed havoc and misery on Ukrainian civilians since Russia invaded that country in February 2022. 

Still, Russia has refrained from taking any direct and public steps against the US over the Iran campaign. 

Asked last week about reports of Russia sharing intelligence with Iran to undermine the US, Trump replied, “They’d say we do it against them; wouldn’t they say that?” in reference to the US selling weapons to the Europeans to give to Ukraine and supplying intelligence to Kyiv to counter Moscow’s unprovoked, bloody invasion.

Ukraine has taken steps to help the US and countries in the Middle East combat Iranian drone attacks, dispatching experts to the region to help defend against the Shaheds. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also publicly backed Trump’s decision to pursue Operation Epic Fury.

Last week, however, Trump dissed Ukraine and accused Zelensky of being more at fault for prolonging Russia’s brutal invasion of his country. 

“I think Putin is ready to make a deal,” Trump told Politico during a March 5 phone interview. “[Zelensky] has to get on the ball and get a deal done.”

“Nothing’s changed since my meeting with him, where I said, ‘You don’t have the cards.’ Now he’s got even less cards.”