Putin Offers to Halt Intelligence Sharing with Iran if US Does the Same with Ukraine

Washington (ANTARA) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered to halt all intelligence sharing with Iran if the United States does the same with Ukraine, according to a report published on Friday (20/3). The proposal was put forward by Putin’s Special Envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, during a meeting last week in Miami, Florida, with his US counterpart Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, the Politico Europe media reported, citing two anonymous sources. The Trump administration rejected the offer, but it has nonetheless sparked concerns among European officials who fear Putin may be attempting to create divisions among NATO allies. An EU official who spoke to Politico Europe described Putin’s offer as “outrageous.” Earlier on Friday, Trump lambasted the transatlantic alliance, stating that without the US, it would be a “paper tiger,” and sharply criticising allies’ refusal to assist in his efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. “They didn’t want to join the effort to stop Iran from having nuclear weapons. Now that the battle has been won militarily with little risk to them, they’re complaining about high oil prices,” Trump said on Truth Social. “But they also didn’t want to help open the Strait of Hormuz, which he called a simple military step and the sole cause of the oil price surge,” he added. Trump also labelled his NATO allies as cowards for not wanting to help him reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Regional tensions in the Middle East have escalated since Israel and the US launched joint strikes against Iran on 28 February, which have so far killed around 1,300 people, including the then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Iran retaliated with drone and missile attacks across the region and has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz to most commercial traffic, a major oil transit route that normally handles about 20 million barrels per day and around 20 per cent of global liquefied natural gas trade.