When US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Russian Foreign Secretary Sergey Lavrov on Thursday, July 23, 2026, in Manila during a Southeast Asian summit, the primary topic was Moscow’s war on Ukraine. However, the meeting occurred amid emerging reports that Russia may be more actively involved than publicly acknowledged in Iran’s attacks on US military sites in the Middle East.

On March 3, 2026, The Washington Post reported that a CIA station within the US embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, had been targeted, according to two people familiar with the matter. Shortly after, on March 6, CNN cited US intelligence sources reporting that Moscow had been assisting Tehran in locating US personnel and aircraft in the Gulf region.

More recently, Reuters reported that Iranian drone attacks on CIA facilities, specifically the embassy in Saudi Arabia, have led US intelligence to investigate possible Russian involvement. The precision and effectiveness of these strikes have raised suspicions of external support.

The military relationship between Moscow and Tehran has strengthened since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with Iran supplying Russia critical weapons such as the Shahed drone and Fateh-110 ballistic missile to aid its war efforts. Despite this cooperation, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko stated in an address to the State Duma that the treaty between Russia and Iran does not constitute a military alliance or mutual military assistance.

These developments highlight the complex and evolving dynamics in the Gulf region and the broader geopolitical landscape.

Sources