Exclusive-Iran strikes on CIA facilities prompt questions about possible Russian role

Exclusive-Iran strikes on CIA facilities prompt questions about possible Russian role

 Jonathan Landay, Gram Slattery and Timour Azhari

Iranian drone attacks on CIA facilities in the Gulf have prompted U.S. intelligence analysts to investigate whether Russia assisted by providing targeting information or advanced drone technology, said four people familiar with U.S. intelligence.

These people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to ‌discuss national security matters, said U.S. intelligence officials have not yet reached firm conclusions about the possible Russian involvement in the attacks on CIA facilities. But they cited ‌the strikes' effectiveness and apparent precision, as well as Russia's broader technical support for Iran, as possible evidence.

Reuters and other media have reported — and U.S. officials have acknowledged — that Russia has provided targeting and other support for Iran in ​its strikes on U.S. targets in the Gulf region generally, but the intelligence community's investigation of possible Russian involvement in supporting the CIA facility attacks has not been previously disclosed.

At least two CIA sites were struck in March, Reuters and other outlets have reported. One of the facilities was the CIA station in Saudi Arabia, which is located in the U.S. embassy in Riyadh, and a separate site was located in eastern Iraq. Some of the sources said additional CIA sites had been hit, but they did not disclose details.

One internal memo from a Western intelligence ‌agency, described by an official in the region with access to ⁠the document, concluded Russia has likely played a role in targeting regional CIA facilities. The official discussed the memo on condition that its precise authorship not be disclosed.

Two Western officials in the Gulf who were briefed on intelligence reports said analysts thought the Saudi attack involved a pair of Russian-enhanced ⁠versions of Iran's Shahed drones. One of the aircraft blew a hole through a vulnerable part of the embassy's exterior and the second flew through the opening and detonated, they said. No deaths or injuries were reported.

While Russian assistance for Iran is longstanding, given the countries' close ties, specific targeting of sensitive CIA sites would indicate Moscow is willing to go further in disrupting U.S. operations as Washington struggles to bring ​the ​Iran war to an end.

Concerns that Russia could be providing targeting data to Iran intensified this weekend after ​strikes on a U.S. air base in Jordan, where Iran struck army ‌barracks with ballistic missiles, killing two soldiers.

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