U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said Russian leaders denied allegations in a phone call with President Donald Trump on Monday that they were sharing intelligence with Iran during the war.
“So we can take their word for it,” Witkoff told CNBC’s “Money Movers” in an interview Tuesday. “Let’s hope they don’t share.”
President Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday.
Witkoff was asked in the interview whether he thought Russia was sharing information with Iran about the whereabouts of U.S. military assets and, if so, why the Trump administration was waiving sanctions that barred Indian refiners from buying Russian crude oil.
“Well, I can’t tell you because I’m not an intelligence agent,” Witkoff replied.
“I can tell you that on the phone call with the president yesterday, he said that the Russian side is not sharing information,” Witkoff said. That’s what I was told.
Witkov also said he had separate phone calls with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov on Monday morning.
Witkov said Ushakov “reiterated” on the call that Russia was not sharing information with Iran.
U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff speaks during a Cabinet meeting in the White House Cabinet Office on January 29, 2026, in Washington, DC.
Win McNamee | Getty Images
MS Now, citing two U.S. officials familiar with the situation, said in a report on Saturday that Russia is providing information to Iran that could help its military launch attacks on U.S. ships, aircraft and military bases in the Middle East.
“Russia is providing intelligence assistance to Iran,” one of the officials told MS Now.
President Trump on Friday criticized Fox News reporter Peter Doocy for questioning him about suggestions that Russia is helping Iran attack U.S. military targets in the region.
President Trump was furious: “What a stupid question to ask at this time.”
“I have not seen anything to suggest that Russia is playing a strategic or tactical combat role,” said one official who spoke to MS Now for Saturday’s article.
At a news conference in Florida on Monday, President Trump said in a phone call with President Putin earlier in the day that the Russian leader was “very impressed with what he saw” regarding the progress of the U.S. war.
