{"id":7617,"date":"2026-07-29T04:08:38","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T04:08:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7617"},"modified":"2026-07-29T04:08:38","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T04:08:38","slug":"does-trump-even-care-if-russia-helps-iran-target-us-troops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7617","title":{"rendered":"Does Trump even care if Russia helps Iran target US troops?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

\n When President Donald Trump launched the Iran war, one of his chief goals was to stop Tehran from funding proxy groups in the Middle East. Those proxy groups, he noted, were responsible for wounding and killing scores of US troops.\n <\/p>

Read more Jay Clayton confirmed as director of national intelligence<\/a><\/p>\n

\n When it comes to whether Russia is helping Iran target those Americans, though, Trump seems remarkably incurious.\n <\/p>\n

\n And that\u2019s become a pretty familiar posture for him.\n <\/p>\n

\n The most recent example stems from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth\u2019s testimony before a Senate committee last week.\n <\/p>\n

\n When asked whether China and Russia were helping Iran, Hegseth cited \u201cways in which both of those countries\u201d have been \u201cenabling some of the things Iran is doing, yes.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n
\n\n Related article\n <\/span>\n<\/header>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n\n
\n
\"An<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\nAn Armed Forces Body Bearer Team moves the casket of late Senator Lindsey Graham for a Congressional tribute in the Rotunda of the US Capitol on July 28.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Kenny Holston\/Pool\/Getty Images<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

\nWhat Lindsey Graham\u2019s funeral revealed about the world under Trump<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

6 min read<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n

\n Two days later, Secretary of State Marco Rubio ignored a question about the subject while seated across from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.\n <\/p>\n

\n Then Trump issued a social media post contradicting Hegseth. He said China and Russia were \u201cin my opinion, not participating\u201d in the Iran war because their leaders had assured him they weren\u2019t selling weapons to Tehran.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI think, you know, I trust them,\u201d Trump said later in the day, adding: \u201cThere could be some things they do. But, thus far, at least, it has not been major. I don\u2019t think they\u2019d want to have me disappointed.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n But Russia isn\u2019t just accused of potentially arming Iran; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Moscow has given Iran satellite imagery of US bases.\n <\/p>\n

\n When asked about this Monday, Trump again downplayed how much it mattered \u2014 saying it would have been \u201cunimpactful\u201d \u2014 but added, \u201cWe\u2019ll find out if that\u2019s true. I\u2019ll ask (Russian President Vladimir) Putin about it.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n But it\u2019s not like this is a new story for him to suddenly broach with Putin. CNN\u2019s first story on this dates back nearly five months, to early March, when it first reported that Russia was providing intel on US military targets to Iran, according to multiple sources familiar with US intelligence.\n <\/p>\n

\n (The New York Times has reported since then that US and European officials also believed Moscow was providing drones and drone parts to Iran, which the Kremlin denied.)\n <\/p>\n

\n The president greeted CNN\u2019s March reporting much like the news today. He said he had \u201chad no indication of that whatsoever\u201d but that the results in the war\u2019s early days suggested it didn\u2019t matter much.\n <\/p>

Read more Trump urges Supreme Court to overturn E. Jean Carroll\u2019s $83M defamation verdict<\/a><\/p>\n

\n \u201cWhether or not this happened, frankly, it does not really matter,\u201d White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt added, \u201cbecause President Trump and the United States military are absolutely decimating the rogue Iranian terrorist regime.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n One of Trump\u2019s negotiators to end the Russia-Ukraine war, Steve Witkoff, said he had \u201cstrongly\u201d told Russia not to give Iran targeting information and other aid. But Trump never came out and said it so firmly.\n <\/p>\n

\n And even after additional US deaths at the hands of Iran this month, the subject apparently still doesn\u2019t concern him too much.\n <\/p>\n

\n
\n\n Related article\n <\/span>\n<\/header>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n\n
\n
\"A<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\nA satellite image of the Caspian Sea.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Planet Observer\/Universal Images Group\/Getty Images<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

\nThe Iran and Ukraine wars are colliding on the world\u2019s biggest lake. Here\u2019s what to know<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

4 min read<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n

\n All of it sounds a lot like Trump\u2019s first term, when there was also intelligence linking Russia to the targeting of US troops. Back then, it was Russia possibly placing bounties on those troops in Afghanistan.\n <\/p>\n

\n As of mid-2020, Trump denied he had been orally briefed on it. But CNN and others reported it had been in his daily briefing in February 2020 (which he is not known to fully read) and that the White House had received intelligence about the possibility as far back as early 2019.\n <\/p>\n

\n Trump knocked the story as possibly a \u201choax\u201d and \u201cfake news\u201d and, weeks after it was reported, said he had declined to bring it up during a call with Putin.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI have never discussed it with Putin,\u201d Trump told Axios at the time. \u201cI would, I have no problem with it.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n The Trump administration emphasized that the intelligence wasn\u2019t conclusive, and the Biden administration said by 2021 that the CIA had only \u201clow to moderate confidence\u201d in it. But that still leaves open the possibility. And given it involves the lives of US troops, it would seem to be something a president might be pretty interested in.\n <\/p>\n

\n Trump, though, has done what he often does \u2014 draw an apparent moral equivalency to what the US does. During his first term, he likened the possibility of Russia placing bounties on US troops to the United States aiding anti-Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s. And back in March, he said that Russia would \u201csay we do it against them, wouldn\u2019t they?\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n The problem with this posture is not just that it places the United States on similar moral ground to Russia; it\u2019s that it sends a message to Russia that helping Iran target US troops \u2014 if that indeed is happening \u2014 isn\u2019t a red line for Trump.\n <\/p>

Read more What Lindsey Graham\u2019s funeral revealed about the world under Trump<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When it comes to whether Russia is helping Iran target Americans, President Donald Trump seems remarkably incurious.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7612,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nDoes Trump even care if Russia helps Iran target US troops? - Relocation Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7617\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Does Trump even care if Russia helps Iran target US troops? - Relocation Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When it comes to whether Russia is helping Iran target Americans, President Donald Trump seems remarkably incurious.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7617\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Relocation Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-29T04:08:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/d2bfc378139bf95d6b31a48a998069f0.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"256\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"144\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7617#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7617\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3d25fb966f660ab012820a9e0acc09be\"},\"headline\":\"Does Trump even care if Russia helps Iran target US troops?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-29T04:08:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7617\"},\"wordCount\":928,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7617#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/7025ea8ce286b85a5bd02c495afcfeaa.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7617#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7617\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7617\",\"name\":\"Does Trump even care if Russia helps Iran target US troops? - Relocation Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7617#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7617#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/7025ea8ce286b85a5bd02c495afcfeaa.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-29T04:08:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3d25fb966f660ab012820a9e0acc09be\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7617#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7617\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7617#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/7025ea8ce286b85a5bd02c495afcfeaa.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/7025ea8ce286b85a5bd02c495afcfeaa.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":450},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=7617#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Does Trump even care if Russia helps Iran target US troops?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Relocation Times\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3d25fb966f660ab012820a9e0acc09be\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Does Trump even care if Russia helps Iran target US troops? - Relocation Times","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7617","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Does Trump even care if Russia helps Iran target US troops? - Relocation Times","og_description":"When it comes to whether Russia is helping Iran target Americans, President Donald Trump seems remarkably incurious.","og_url":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7617","og_site_name":"Relocation Times","article_published_time":"2026-07-29T04:08:38+00:00","og_image":[{"width":256,"height":144,"url":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/d2bfc378139bf95d6b31a48a998069f0.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7617#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7617"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3d25fb966f660ab012820a9e0acc09be"},"headline":"Does Trump even care if Russia helps Iran target US troops?","datePublished":"2026-07-29T04:08:38+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7617"},"wordCount":928,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7617#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/7025ea8ce286b85a5bd02c495afcfeaa.jpg","articleSection":["Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7617#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7617","url":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7617","name":"Does Trump even care if Russia helps Iran target US troops? - Relocation Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7617#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7617#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/7025ea8ce286b85a5bd02c495afcfeaa.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-29T04:08:38+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3d25fb966f660ab012820a9e0acc09be"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7617#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7617"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7617#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/7025ea8ce286b85a5bd02c495afcfeaa.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/7025ea8ce286b85a5bd02c495afcfeaa.jpg","width":800,"height":450},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=7617#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Does Trump even care if Russia helps Iran target US troops?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/","name":"Relocation Times","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3d25fb966f660ab012820a9e0acc09be","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/relocationtimess.com"],"url":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7617\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}