Russia-Iran intelligence link? 14 satellites may have helped Iran hit US airbase in Saudi Arabia
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Russia-Iran intelligence link? 14 satellites may have helped Iran hit US airbase in Saudi Arabia Photograph: (AFP)
According to report, fourteen Russian spy satellites flew over a US base in Saudi Arabia days before Iran's March 27 strike
Fourteen Russian spy satellites flew over the US military’s Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia in March, just days before a major Iranian strike on the facility during the US-Israeli war with Iran, according to a CNN investigation. The March 27 attack involved at least one missile and several drones. It wounded 12 US service members and damaged or destroyed key American military equipment, including a Boeing E-3 Sentry, an Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft capable of tracking aircraft and missiles hundreds of kilometres away.
CNN, citing unnamed US sources, reported that intelligence obtained from Russian satellites played an important role in helping Iran conduct the precision strike. Although the US media outlet did not get the Russian satellite imagery itself, the network analysed orbital tracking data with assistance from the European Space Agency's Aurora Programme and US-based Kayhan Space. The analysis identified Russian satellite Cosmos 2573 passing over Prince Sultan Air Base two days before the attack, along with 13 other Russian reconnaissance satellites.
Cosmos 2573 is equipped with detailed imaging capabilities, including synthetic aperture radar (SAR), which can collect data in darkness and through cloud cover. The technology can also detect physical changes involving high-value military assets. CNN noted that the AWACS aircraft had been moved from its usual pre-war position, yet Iranian forces were still able to locate and destroy it.
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According to the network, sources linked Russia's alleged assistance to Iran to intelligence that the US has provided to Ukraine for strikes against Russian targets. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had previously claimed that Russia provided Iran with satellite imagery of Prince Sultan Air Base. “I think that it’s in Russia’s interest to help Iranians. And I don’t believe, I know, that they share information,” Zelensky said in an interview with NBC following the attack.
Zelensky said he received daily briefings from Ukrainian intelligence agencies showing that Russian satellites photographed the Saudi airbase on March 20, March 23 and March 25, suggesting that preparations for the attack were underway. The Kremlin, however, has denied that Russia provided satellite imagery to Iran.
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