Trump acknowledges Putin may be helping Iran; UK says Russia tactics behind Iranian drone campaign

President Trump acknowledged in a Fox News Radio interview on Friday morning that Vladimir Putin might be helping Iran, saying: "I think he might be helping him a little bit, yeah, I guess. And he probably thinks we are helping Ukraine, right? Yeah, we are helping [Ukraine] also. And so, [Putin] says that, and China would say the same thing. You know, it is like, hey, they do it and we do it." UK Defence Secretary John Healey made a sharper assessment: Putin's "hidden hand" lies behind Iran's military methods. British officers at UK military headquarters told Healey that drone pilots from Iran and Iranian proxies are increasingly adopting tactics from the Russians. Iran has fired more than 2,000 Shahed drones across the Middle East — the same long-range weapon Russia has used extensively against Ukraine. The Washington Post and others reported last week that Moscow was providing Tehran with intelligence on US military assets in the region. US special envoy Steve Witkoff said Putin denied Russian involvement in a phone call with Trump earlier this week. Trump also walked back his earlier calls for Iranians to rise up against their government, expressing skepticism on Friday that such an uprising could succeed "right now."