There are moments when you read the news and think: no, this is too much even by the standards of modern geopolitics.

And then it turns out to be real.

On March 6, The Washington Post reported that, according to sources familiar with US intelligence, Russia has been passing Iran targeting intelligence that helps Tehran carry out more precise strikes against American forces in the Middle East. The report said that this included information on the location of US warships and aircraft.

Strip away the diplomatic language, and the meaning is simple: this is help in choosing military targets.

For Israelis, that is not some distant, academic matter. We live in a region where rockets, missiles, drones and alerts are part of ordinary life. We live in a region where Iranian power is not theoretical, where the ayatollah regime does not hide its ambitions, and where every improvement in Tehran’s military performance carries real consequences.

That is why this story lands differently here.

One point has to be stated clearly and honestly. The public reporting does not claim that Russia is giving Iran coordinates of Israeli units or targets inside Israel. That is not in the open-source reporting, and it is important to say so plainly rather than drift into fantasy.

But that does not make the story less serious. It makes it more strategic.

Because the United States is not just another country operating in the region. For decades, America has been Israel’s central ally in the world. That is not a slogan and not sentimentality. It is a military, political and technological reality.

The US-Israel relationship rests on deep defense cooperation, intelligence coordination, early-warning systems, missile-defense support, aviation partnerships, and diplomatic backing at moments when Israel comes under heavy international pressure. American power is one of the pillars of the regional balance that has helped deter some of the worst threats facing Israel.

So when someone helps Iran strike........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)