Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a CBS 60 Minutes interview on Friday, said the US is “tracking everything” and factoring it into battle plans when asked about the reports Moscow was aiding Tehran.

Since the war began on February 28, Russia has passed Iran the locations of US military assets, including warships and aircraft, three officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told The Washington Post.

“It does seem like it’s a pretty comprehensive effort,” one of the sources told the newspaper.

Meanwhile, anonymous officials told The Associated Press news agency that US intelligence has not uncovered that Russia is directing Iran on what to do with the information, as the US and Israel continue their bombardment and Iran fires retaliatory salvoes at US assets and allies in the Gulf.

Hegseth said the United States is “not concerned” about the reports, also downplaying the possibility that Russia’s assistance could be putting US citizens in harm’s way.

“The American people can rest assured their commander-in-chief is well aware of who’s talking to who,” Hegseth said.

“And anything that shouldn’t be happening, whether it’s in public or back-channelled, is being confronted and confronted strongly.”

He continued: “We’re putting the other guys in danger, and that’s our job. So we’re not concerned about that. But the only ones that need to be worried right now are Iranians that think they’re gonna live.”

Liveitt declined to say if Trump had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the reported intelligence sharing or whether he believed Russia should face repercussions, saying she would let the president speak to that himself.

 First signs of Moscow’s involvement

Trump, for his part, on Friday evening berated a reporter for raising the matter of the report when he opened the floor to questions from the media at the end of a White House meeting about how paying student-athletes has recalibrated college sports.

“I have a lot of respect for you, you’ve always been very nice to me,” the US president said to Peter Doocy, the Fox News reporter.

“What a stupid question that is to be asking at this time. We’re talking about something else.”

The intelligence is the first indication that Moscow has sought to get involved in the war that the US and Israel launched on Iran a week ago.

Asked whether Russia would go beyond political support and offer military assistance to Iran, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there has been no such request from Tehran.

“We are in dialogue with the Iranian side, with representatives of the Iranian leadership, and will certainly continue this dialogue,” he said on Friday.

Pushed on whether Moscow has provided any military or intelligence assistance to Tehran since the Iran war’s start, he refrained from comment.

Russia has tightened its relationship with Iran as it looked for badly needed missiles and drones to use in its four-year war against Ukraine. But the pair have long maintained friendly relations, even while Tehran has faced years of isolation from the West over its nuclear programme and its support of proxy groups in the Middle East.

Trump said the US and allies would make Iran “economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before” after it picked “acceptable” new leadership.

With the war close to entering a second week, it remains unclear who will lead Iran after the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei a week ago, or on what terms the US would end its offensive against Tehran, which has triggered region-wide retaliatory strikes.

Speaking on Friday, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the administration expected military operations to last four to six weeks.

Writing on his Truth Social platform, Trump said: “There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!

“After that, and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before.

“IRAN WILL HAVE A GREAT FUTURE. MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN (MIGA!).”

Trump’s latest intervention suggested he was not interested in a negotiated settlement to the war, though he stopped short of calling for regime change.

Since the beginning of the conflict, Trump has avoided the term “regime change”, a sign he may be wary of drawing parallels between the attack on Iran and past US wars in the Middle East that he criticised before entering politics.

Other senior administration officials have made that argument on Trump’s behalf in recent days, saying the president will not let the US get drawn into a protracted, open-ended conflict like in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Asked about the duration of the offensive, Leavitt told reporters: “We expect [the war] to last about 4 to 6 weeks, and we are well on our way to achieving those objectives, annihilating Iran’s navy.”

She also said Trump did not want Iran to be led by “a radical terrorist or a regime that chants death to America”.

The White House press secretary told reporters: “[Trump] wants to take an interest in and pursuing who the next leader of the Iranian country is going to be. And that has yet to be seen, the president is discussing it.”

Earlier this week, Trump told US outlet Axios he expected to play a role in the selection of Iran’s next leader.

Responding to reports that Khamenei’s son Mojtaba – a conservative close to Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps military wing – could be installed as leader, Trump said that would be “unacceptable”.

Trump has likened the situation in Iran to the US raid on Venezuela earlier this year, in which he removed the country’s leader from power and publicly backed a successor.

In January, the president ordered troops to seize Nicolás Maduro in a surprise operation, with the administration throwing its support behind his deputy, Delcy Rodríguez. The two countries restored diplomatic relations on Thursday.

Elsewhere, three sources, including a senior American official with direct knowledge, told CBS News that Russia had provided intelligence on American positions to Iran.

Officials said the targeting information included the locations of American warships and aircraft in the Middle East.

Asked about the report, Leavitt said it was “not making a difference”.

Russia has long been an ally of Iran. Tehran has provided Moscow with thousands of Shahed drones to be used by Russian troops during the last four years since President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.

Throughout that time, the US has provided Ukraine with weapons as well as – crucially – intelligence that has helped Ukrainian troops attack Russians.

Putin’s office said on Friday he has spoken with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian over the phone, expressing his condolences for the deaths of Iran’s supreme leader, other government officials and civilians around the country in the US-Israeli strikes.

The Kremlin said Putin had reiterated Russia’s stance that the hostilities must end immediately, and that a diplomatic resolution must be found.

Pezeshkian expressed gratitude for Russia’s support and provided a detailed report of Iran’s developments, the statement said, adding that both Iran and Russia agreed to maintain communications with each other.

On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia remained in dialogue with Iran’s leadership, but he declined to say whether the two countries were continuing military co-operation.

Asked about the claim of Russia helping Iran, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said in an interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes programme that Trump is “well aware of who’s talking to who”.

As the war enters its second week it has expanded across the Middle East after Iran-backed Hezbollah launched attacks against Israel, which prompted the Israeli government to launch strikes against Lebanon on Monday.

On Friday large explosions were seen in Lebanon’s capital Beirut. Prior to the strikes the Israeli military ordered hundreds of thousands of people to leave the south of the city.

Hezbollah has also warned Israelis living within 5km (three miles) of the Lebanese border to leave their homes.

As part of Iran’s retaliation against the US-Israel attacks, drone and missile strikes have also been reported in countries hosting US bases including Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, the UAE and Kuwait – and US-allied Oman and Saudi Arabia.

Elsewhere, a British military base in Cyprus was struck by a drone on Sunday, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.

Three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets entered the Estonian skies “without permission and remained there for a total of 12 minutes” over the Gulf of Finland, the government said.

Italy, Finland and Sweden scrambled jets under Nato’s mission to bolster its eastern flank. A Nato spokesperson said it was “yet another example of reckless Russian behaviour and Nato’s ability to respond”.

Russia denied violating Estonian airspace. But tensions have been escalating recently, after Poland and Romania – both Nato members – said Russian drones breached their airspace.

Article 4 of the Nato treaty formally starts urgent consultations within the 32-member alliance, which ties the US and many European nations together on collective defence.

It is the second time this month that a Nato member has requested Article 4 consultations. Poland did so on 10 September after Russian drones entered its airspace.

Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal said “Nato’s response to any provocation must be united and strong”.

“We consider it essential to consult with our allies to ensure shared situational awareness and to agree on our next joint steps,” Michal said.

US President Donald Trump said on Friday: “I don’t love it. I don’t like when that happens. Could be big trouble.”

Estonia, which shares a border with Russia to the east, says this was the fifth Russian violation of its airspace this year.

Officials said the Russian aircraft entered its airspace from the north-east and were intercepted by Finnish jets over the Gulf of Finland. Once inside Estonian airspace, Italian F-35 jets, based in Estonia, were deployed under Nato’s Baltic Air Policing mission to escort the aircraft out.

The government said the Russian jets had no flight plans, had their transponders turned off and also did not have two-way radio communication with Estonian air traffic control.

Russia’s defence ministry said the jets were on a “scheduled flight… in strict compliance with international airspace regulations and did not violate the borders of other states, as confirmed by objective monitoring”.

It said they flew over neutral Baltic waters, more than 3km (two miles) from Vaindloo Island, which belongs to Estonia.

Asked at the White House whether the two leaders had agreed to such a summit, the US president said there was a “very good prospect”, but did not give further details.

The Kremlin earlier issued a vague statement about the talks between Putin and Steve Witkoff, with a foreign policy aide saying the two sides had exchanged “signals” as part of “constructive” talks in Moscow.

The meeting came days before Trump’s deadline for Russia to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine, or face new sanctions.

Trump’s comments in the Oval Office on Wednesday come after he posted on his Truth Social platform that he had briefed some of America’s European allies following the talks.

“Everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come,” Trump said.

The White House said that Russia had expressed a desire to meet the US president and that he was “open to meeting with both President Putin and President Zelensky”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meanwhile said he had spoken to Trump about Witkoff’s visit, with European leaders also on the call.

Zelensky has been warning that Russia would only make serious moves towards peace if it began to run out of money.

Trump has said Russia could face hefty sanctions or see secondary sanctions imposed against all those who trade with it if it doesn’t take steps to end the war.

Wednesday’s discussions between Putin and Witkoff appeared cordial despite Trump’s mounting irritation with the lack of progress in negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv.

Shortly after Witkoff’s departure from Moscow, the White House said Trump had signed an executive order imposing an additional 25% tariff on India for buying Russian oil. The tariff would come into force on 27 August.

The US president has accused India of not caring “how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian war machine”.

Expectations are muted for a settlement by Friday, and Russia has continued its large-scale air attacks on Ukraine despite Trump’s threats of sanctions.

Before taking office in January, Trump said he would be able to end the war between Russia and Ukraine in a day. The conflict has raged on, and his rhetoric towards Moscow has since hardened.

“We thought we had [the war] settled numerous times, and then President Putin goes out and starts launching rockets into some city like Kyiv and kills a lot of people in a nursing home or whatever,” he said last month.

Three rounds of talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul have failed to bring the war closer to an end, three-and-a-half years after Moscow launched its full-invasion.

Moscow’s military and political preconditions for peace remain unacceptable to Kyiv and to its Western partners. The Kremlin has also repeatedly turned down Kyiv’s requests for a meeting between Zelensky and Putin.

Meanwhile, the US administration approved $200m (£150m) of additional military sales to Ukraine on Tuesday following a phone call between Zelensky and Trump, in which the two leaders also discussed defence co-operation and drone production.

Ukraine has been using drones to hit Russia’s refineries and energy facilities, while Moscow has focused its air attacks on Ukraine’s cities.

The Kyiv City Military Administration said the toll of an attack on the city last week rose to 32 after a man died of his injuries. The strike was one of the deadliest on Kyiv since the start of the invasion.

Ukrainian authorities on Wednesday reported that a Russian attack on a holiday camp in the central region of Zaporizhzhia left two dead and 12 wounded.

“There’s no military sense in this attack. It’s just cruelty to scare people,” Zelensky said.

That will raise the total tariff on Indian imports to the United States to 50% – among the highest rates imposed by the US.

The new rate will come into effect in 21 days, so on 27 August, according to the executive order.

A response from India’s foreign ministry on Wednesday said Delhi had already made clear its stance on imports from Russia, and reiterated that the tariff is “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable”.

“It is therefore extremely unfortunate that the US should choose to impose additional tariffs on India for actions that several other countries are also taking in their own national interest,” the brief statement read.

“India will take all actions necessary to protect its national interests,” it added.

The US president had earlier warned he would raise levies, saying India doesn’t “care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine”.

On Wednesday, the White House said in a statement that the “Russian Federation’s actions in Ukraine pose an ongoing threat to US national security and foreign policy, necessitating stronger measures to address the national emergency”.

It said India’s imports of Russian oil undermine US efforts to counter Russia’s activities in Ukraine.

It added that the US will determine which other countries import oil from Russia, and will “recommend further actions to the President as needed”.

Oil and gas are Russia’s biggest exports, and Moscow’s biggest customers include China, India and Turkey.

The threatened tariff hike follows meetings on Wednesday by Trump’s top envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow, aimed at securing peace between Russia and Ukraine.

The additional tariff would mean a steep 50% duty on key Indian exports like textiles, gems and jewellery, auto parts, and seafood, hitting major job-creating sectors.

Electronics, including iPhones, and pharma remain exempt for now.

Delhi has previously called Trump’s threat to raise tariffs over its purchase of oil from Russia “unjustified and unreasonable”.

In an earlier statement, a spokesperson for India’s foreign ministry said the US had encouraged India to import Russian gas at the start of the conflict, “for strengthening global energy markets stability”.

He said India “began importing from Russia because traditional supplies were diverted to Europe after the outbreak of the conflict”.

The latest threatened tariff demonstrates Trump’s willingness to impose sanctions related to the war in Ukraine even against nations that the US considers to be important allies or trading partners.

This could be a warning that other countries could feel a real bite if Trump ramps up those kind of sanctions once Friday’s deadline passes, when the US president has threatened new sanctions on Russia and to place 100% tariffs on countries that purchase its oil.

This would not be the first time the Trump administration has imposed secondary tariffs, which are also in place to punish buyers of Venezuelan oil.

India has previously criticised the US – its largest trading partner – for introducing the levies, when the US itself is still doing trade with Russia.

Last year, the US traded goods worth an estimated $3.5bn (£2.6bn) with Russia, despite tough sanctions and tariffs.

Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have in the past referred to each other as friends and, during Trump’s first term, attended political rallies in each others’ countries.

But that has not stopped Trump from hitting India with the levies, suggesting diverging interests between New Delhi and Washington.

The Federation of India Exports Organisations has called the decision to impose additional tariffs “extremely shocking”, adding that it will hit 55% of India’s exports to America.

The tariffs are expected to make Indian goods far costlier in the US, and could cut US-bound exports by 40–50%, according to the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), a Delhi-based think tank.

“India should remain calm, avoid retaliation for at least six months, and recognise that meaningful trade negotiations with the US cannot proceed under threats or mistrust,” former Indian trade official and head of GTRI, Ajay Srivastava, said.

Witkoff arrived in Moscow on Wednesday as Donald Trump’s deadline for Russia to agree a ceasefire in Ukraine looms.

The US president has said Russia could face hefty sanctions or see secondary sanctions imposed against all those who trade with it if it doesn’t take steps to end the “horrible war” with Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, has warned that Russia would only make serious moves towards peace if it began to run out of money. He welcomed the threat of tougher US sanctions and tariffs on nations buying Russian oil.

Expectations are muted for a settlement by Friday, and Russia has continued its large-scale air attacks on Ukraine despite Trump’s threats of sanctions.

Three rounds of talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul have failed to bring the war closer to and end, three and a half years after Moscow launched its full-invasion.

Moscow’s military and political preconditions for peace remain unacceptable to Kyiv and to its Western partners. The Kremlin has also repeatedly turned down Kyiv’s requests for a meeting between Zelensky and Putin.

Meanwhile, the US administration approved $200m of additional military sales to Ukraine on Tuesday following a phone call between Zelensky and Trump, in which the two leaders also discussed defence cooperation and drone production.

Ukraine has been using drones to hit Russia’s refineries and energy facilities, while Moscow has focused its air attacks on Ukraine’s cities.

The Kyiv City Military Administration said the toll of an attack on the city last week rose to 32 after a man died of his injuries. The strike was the deadliest on Kyiv since the start of the invasion.

Ukrainian authorities on Wednesday reported that a Russian attack on a holiday camp in the central region of Zaporizhzhia left two dead and 12 wounded.

“There’s no military sense in this attack. It’s just cruelty to scare people,” Zelensky said.

Medvedev, who has engaged in a war of words on social media with United States President Donald Trump, made his latest broadside after the Foreign Ministry’s announcement on Monday.

“The Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement on the withdrawal of the moratorium on the deployment of medium- and short-range missiles is the result of NATO countries’ anti-Russian policy,” Medvedev posted in English on the X social media platform.

“This is a new reality all our opponents will have to reckon with. Expect further steps,” he said.

Medvedev, who serves as the deputy head of Russia’s powerful Security Council and has made several hawkish comments on Russia’s nuclear capabilities in recent years, did not elaborate on what “further steps” may entail.

Last week, Trump said that he had ordered two US nuclear submarines to be repositioned to “the appropriate regions” in response to Medvedev’s remarks about the risk of war between Washington and Moscow.

In its statement, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the developing situation in Europe and the Asia Pacific prompted its reassessment on the deployment of short- and medium-range missiles.

“Since the situation is developing towards the actual deployment of US-made land-based medium- and short-range missiles in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, the Russian Foreign Ministry notes that the conditions for maintaining a unilateral moratorium on the deployment of similar weapons have disappeared,” the ministry said.

Russian  President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said last year that Moscow may have to respond to what they described as provocations by the US and NATO by lifting restrictions on missile deployment.

Lavrov told Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti in December that Moscow’s unilateral moratorium on the deployment of such missiles was “practically no longer viable and will have to be abandoned”.

“The United States arrogantly ignored warnings from Russia and China and, in practice, moved on to deploying weapons of this class in various regions of the world,” Lavrov told the news agency.

The  US withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty in 2019, under the first Trump administration, citing Russian non-compliance, but Moscow had said that it would not deploy such weapons provided that Washington did not do so.

The INF treaty, signed in 1987 by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and US President Ronald Reagan, had eliminated an entire class of weapons: ground-launched nuclear missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500km (311 to 3,418 miles).

In its first public reaction to Trump’s comments on the repositioning of US submarines, the Kremlin on Monday played down the remarks and said it was not looking to get into a public spat with the US president.

“In this case, it is obvious that American submarines are already on combat duty. This is an ongoing process, that’s the first thing,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

“But in general, of course, we would not want to get involved in such a controversy and would not want to comment on it in any way,” he said.

“Of course, we believe that everyone should be very, very careful with nuclear rhetoric,” he added.

The episode comes at a delicate moment, with Trump threatening to impose new sanctions on Russia and buyers of its oil, including India and China, unless President Vladimir Putin agrees by Friday to a ceasefire in Moscow’s war on Ukraine.

Putin said last week that peace talks had made some positive progress but that Russia had the momentum in its war against Ukraine, signalling no shift in his position despite the looming deadline.

In a post on Truth Social, the US president warned he would raise levies, saying India “don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine”.

India is currently among the largest buyers of Russian oil. It has become an important export market for Moscow after several European countries cut trade when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Trump did not specify what the new tariff would be, but it comes just days after he unveiled a hefty 25% levy on India.

In a statement, a spokesperson for India’s foreign ministry, Randhir Jaiswal, said the US had encouraged India to import Russian gas at the start of the conflict, “for strengthening global energy markets stability”.

He said India “began importing from Russia because traditional supplies were diverted to Europe after the outbreak of the conflict”.

India also criticised the US – its largest trading partner – for introducing the tariffs, when the US itself is still doing trade with Russia. Last year, the US traded goods worth an estimated $3.5bn (£2.6bn) with Russia, despite tough sanctions and tariffs.

“Like any major economy, India will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security,” the foreign ministry statement said.

“The targeting of India is unjustified and unreasonable,” it added.

Last week, Trump had described India as a “friend” but said its tariffs on US products “are far too high” and he warned of an unspecified “penalty” over its trade with Russia.

His latest Truth Social post again struck a critical tone.

“India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian Oil, they are then, for much of the Oil purchased, selling it on the Open Market for big profits,” he wrote.

“Because of this, I will be substantially raising the Tariff paid by India to the USA,” he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not ordered India’s oil refineries to stop buying Russian oil, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the situation.

Ajay Srivastava, a former Indian trade official and head of the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), a Delhi-based think tank, said Trump’s claims about India’s oil trade with Russia are misleading for several reasons.

He told the BBC that the trade has been transparent and broadly understood by the US.

Mr Srivastava said India ramped up purchases of oil to help stabilise global markets after Western sanctions disrupted supplies – helping to stop a global oil price shock.

He also said that India’s oil refineries – both public and private – decide where to buy crude oil based on factors like price, supply security, and export rules. They operate independently of the government and do not need its approval to buy from Russia or other countries.

Though relations between the US and Russia warmed after Trump returned to the White house in January, the US president has more recently toughened his rhetoric against the Kremlin and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump has questioned whether Putin is truly committed to peace with Ukraine. In Monday’s Truth Social post he used stern language, describing the Russian military as the “Russian War Machine”.

Russia’s leader has repeatedly said he is ready for peace but only if Kyiv meets certain conditions, such as recognising Ukrainian territories that Russia has occupied.

Trump has threatened Moscow with severe tariffs targeting its oil and other exports if a ceasefire with Ukraine is not agreed by 8 August.

US envoy Steve Witkoff is due to visit Russia later this week, where he is expected to meet Putin.

“What he (Trump) said very clearly is that it is not acceptable for India to continue financing this war by purchasing the oil from Russia,” Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff at the White House and one of Trump’s most influential aides, said in an interview with Fox News.

India is the second-largest buyer of Russian oil, after China, and more than 30 percent of its fuel is sourced from Moscow, providing revenue to the Kremlin amid Western sanctions. New Delhi imported just 1 percent of its oil from Russia before the Ukraine war started in 2022.

Miller’s criticism was among the strongest yet by the Trump administration – which came after the US slapped a 25 percent tariff on Indian products on Friday as a result of its purchase of military equipment and energy from Russia. The Trump administration also threatened additional penalties if India continued its purchase of arms and oil from Russia.

“People will be shocked to learn that India is basically tied with China in purchasing Russian oil. That’s an astonishing fact,” Miller also said on the show.

The US aide tempered his criticism by noting Trump’s relationship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which he described as “tremendous”.

Last week, Trump also underscored the “friendship” with India on the day he announced the tariffs on Asia’s second-largest economy.

While  India was “our friend”, it had always bought most of its military equipment from Russia and was “Russia’s largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE – ALL THINGS NOT GOOD!” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on July 30.

“I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care.”

Trump has threatened 100 percent tariffs on US imports from countries that buy Russian oil unless Moscow reaches a major peace deal with Ukraine. The US president has also criticised India for being a member of BRICS, of which Russia and China are founding members.

Some  analysts say the tough stance taken by the Trump administration might be aimed at pressuring Russia, while others see it as a pressure tactic to get New Delhi to agree to terms set by Washington, as the two countries are engaged in trade talks. Trump wants to reduce the US trade deficit with India, which stands at $45bn.

‘Time-tested’ ties

Meanwhile, Indian government sources told the Reuters news agency on Saturday that New Delhi will keep buying oil from Moscow despite US threats.

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs said its relationship with Russia was “steady and time-tested” and should not be seen through the prism of a third country. New Delhi’s ties to Moscow go back to the Soviet era.

Russia is the leading supplier of oil and defence equipment to India. According to a March report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Russia remains the biggest arms supplier of equipment and systems for the Indian Armed Forces.

Prime Minister Modi travelled to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin last year, as New Delhi has tried to balance its ties between the West and Russia. He has since met Putin several times at international forums.

India has historically bought most of its crude from the Middle East, but this has changed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, as India bought the oil at discounted rates after the West shunned Russia to punish it.

New Delhi bought 68,000 barrels per day of crude oil from Russia in January 2022. By June of the same year, oil imports rose to 1.12 million barrels per day. The daily imports peaked at 2.15 million in May 2023 and have varied since.

Supplies rose as high as nearly 40 percent of India’s imports at one point, making Moscow the largest supplier of crude to New Delhi, the Press Trust of India reported, citing data from Kpler, a data analytics company.

India says its imports from Russia was within legal norms, adding that it has helped stabilise the global crude prices.

Here’s where things stand on Wednesday 30 July 2025:

• Tsunami waves have hit parts of Russia, Japan and the United States after a magnitude 8.8 earthquake off Russia’s eastern Kamchatka Peninsula.
• The quake struck 136km (84 miles) east of the coastal city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in Russia’s far east, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
• Japan’s meteorological agency issued a tsunami advisory for much of its east coast, warning of waves of up to 3 metres (9.8 ft) high.
• Tsunami warnings were also issued for Taiwan, the Philippines, Hawaii and Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, with advisories issued for much of the US West Coast.

‘All the tents and structures were swept away by the wave’

An expedition group from the Russian Geographical Society was on the island of Shumshu when tsunami waves swept away their tent camp.

“When the wave hit, all we could do was run to higher ground. It’s very difficult to do that in boots on slippery grass and in fog,” group member Vera Kostamo told Komsomolskaya Pravda, a Russian publication.

“All the tents and structures were swept away by the wave, and our belongings were scattered across the beach for hundreds of metres,” she said.

“We have no casualties. Everyone acted quickly, but we lost all our belongings.”

Tsunami warning lifted for Russia’s Far East region

Russia has become the latest country to lift a tsunami warning, after the 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck off its coast had prompted evacuation orders in the far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula.

“Dear residents and visitors to the Kamchatka region, our colleagues from the State Emergency Situations Ministry have lifted the tsunami alert,” the region’s Emergencies Minister Sergei Lebedev said on social media.

Kremlin says no casualties after quake

We have some comments from Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson.

Speaking to reporters, Peskov said there had been no casualties in Russia from the magnitude 8.8 earthquake off Kamchatka in the country’s east.

The official credited solid building construction and the smooth working of alert systems for the lack of casualties.

Philippines scraps tsunami advisory

Authorities in the Philippines have cancelled a tsunami advisory put in place for a number of coastal communities.

In a statement, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology at the Department of Science and Technology said there had been no significant sea level disturbances or tsunami waves following the earthquake.

“Any effects due to minor sea level disturbances have largely passed,” it said, adding that it was cancelling the advisory it had issued earlier.

Footage shows rising waves, sound of warning sirens in Japan

Social media users and news outlets in Japan have captured the sound of sirens warning residents of the possibility of a tsunami, as well as the rise in the height of waves following the earthquake earlier today.

Colombia tells coastal residents to evacuate

Authorities in Colombia have issued a tsunami alert for the departments of Choco and Narino, as well as warnings for Cauca and Cauca Valley.

In a statement on Facebook, Colombia’s National Unit for Disaster Risk Management urged residents to evacuate the beaches and low-lying areas on the coasts of Choco and Narino, telling them to head to higher ground and away from the coast.

Waves of up to 4 metres (13ft) expected in French Polynesia

Local authorities in French Polynesia are warning that waves of up to 4 metres (13 feet) are expected to hit the Marquesas Islands.

Waves ranging from “1.10 metres to 4 metres” (3.6 to 13ft) on the island of Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas archipelago are expected overnight from about 1am local time (11:00 GMT), the High Commission of the French Republic in French Polynesia said in a statement.

The islands of Ua Huka and Hiva Oa are also expected to be affected, it added.

Understanding tsunami alerts

We have been reporting about the various tsunami alerts issued by a number of countries following the earthquake off Russia’s coast earlier today – but what do they all mean?

These alerts are meant to notify local authorities, emergency services and the public about potential risks related to a tsunami. They are divided in four levels, according to the US National Weather Service:

• Tsunami Warning: Take action – danger! A tsunami that may cause widespread flooding is expected or occurring and may continue for several hours or days.
• Tsunami Advisory: Take action – A tsunami with potential for strong currents or waves dangerous to those in or very near the water is expected or occurring.
• Tsunami Watch: Be prepared – A distant earthquake has occurred. A tsunami is possible.
  Stay tuned for more information. Be prepared to take action if necessary.
• Tsunami Information Statement: Relax – An earthquake has occurred, but there is no threat or it was very far away and the threat has not been determined. In most cases, there is no threat of a destructive tsunami.

Russia lifts tsunami alerts, but risks remain

As we reported earlier, Russian authorities have cancelled a tsunami warning for the remote Kamchatka Peninsula and the Kuril Islands.

Still, experts say some risk remains.

Scientists expect aftershocks at magnitudes of up to 7.5 and possible tsunamis on the coast of Avacha Bay on the southeastern coast of the peninsula. That is also where the regional capital of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is located.

Tsunami from powerful quake spanned the width of world’s biggest ocean

This tsunami has now made its way to the US West Coast.

All of the western seaport states – Washington, Oregon, California – are reporting elevated sea levels. There are no reports of damage and forecasters were predicting that any tsunami surge would be well below half a metre.

Meanwhile, islands and territories across the Pacific issued different warning levels as they braced for the tsunami’s arrival.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has now downgraded the threat level for the Hawaii islands from a warning to an advisory, meaning that people can now return to their homes.

It does appear that Hawaii has avoided a major tsunami, which it feared it might be subjected to, but it did record a tsunami surge of at least a metre.

And in the western Pacific, the island of Guam and the northern Marianas have had their alert warnings lifted, and they also seem to have avoided the worst of this tsunami.

But it gives you a sense of the power of the earthquake that created this tsunami, managing during the course of one long anxious day to span the width of the world’s biggest ocean.

NWS warns of rapid tidal swings in San Francisco Bay Area

The San Francisco Bay Area’s National Weather Service reports rapid fluctuations of up to 61cm (two feet) in water level, most notably around the Monterey Bay, south of the city.

“These rapid tidal swings may persist through the morning as the tsunami waves continue to propagate through the waters,” it said.

Japan revises tsunami warnings for certain areas

The Japan Meteorological Agency has revised tsunami warnings to lower-level advisories for a number of areas, public broadcaster NHK has reported.

“Warnings remain in effect for parts of Hokkaido Prefecture and the Tohoku region,” the report said, adding that people should exercise caution until all alerts are lifted.

Latest updates on North America tsunami warnings and advisories

The National Tsunami Warning Center has issued its updated observations, saying a tsunami warning in is effect for:

• California – the coast from Cape Mendocino, California to the Oregon/California border

It also said a tsunami advisory is in effect for:

• California – the coast from the California/Mexico Border to Cape Mendocino, California, including San Francisco Bay
• Oregon – the coast from the Oregon/California border to the Oregon/Washington border, including the Columbia River estuary coast
• Washington – outer coast from the Oregon/Washington border to Slip Point, Columbia River estuary coast, and the Juan de Fuca Strait coast
• British Columbia – the north coast and Haida Gwaii, the central coast and northeast Vancouver Island, the outer west coast of Vancouver Island, the Juan de Fuca Strait coast
• South Alaska and the Alaska Peninsula – Pacific coasts from Chignik Bay, Alaska to Unimak Pass, Alaska (80 miles [130km] NE of Unalaska)
• Aleutian Islands – Unimak Pass, Alaska (80 miles [130km] NE of Unalaska) to Attu, Alaska, including the Pribilof Islands.

There is no tsunami threat for other US and Canadian Pacific coasts in North America, it added.

If you’re just joining us

Let’s bring you up to speed with the latest developments:

• A magnitude 8.8 earthquake, one of the strongest ever recorded, has struck off the coast of eastern Russia.
• The US Geological Survey said the tremor was shallow at a depth of 19.3km (12 miles) and centred 119km (74 miles) east-southeast of the Russian city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
• There were no immediate reports of deaths or serious injuries.
• A number of countries across the Pacific Ocean issued tsunami warnings and urged residents to evacuate coastal areas.
• In the US state of Hawaii, a tsunami warning has been downgraded to an advisory, allowing residents to return to their homes.
• There is also no further tsunami threat to the Pacific islands of Guam, Rota, Tinian or Saipan.

‘Rapid and damaging surge’ in California area

The National Weather Service for Los Angeles in the US state of California says there is a “rapid and damaging surge” in Port San Luis that is going “from low to high tide in just a few minutes”.

“Do not return to inundated areas as waters will recede, but could return multiple times through the next 24 hours, and the first wave may not be the largest,” it urged residents.

Photos: People in Hawaii evacuate to safe areas after tsunami alert

No further tsunami threat to group of Pacific islands

A tsunami threat for a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean has been revoked, according to the US National Weather Service.

Based on all available data, there is no further tsunami threat to Guam, Rota, Tinian or Saipan from the magnitude 8.8 earthquake that struck off the coast of Russia earlier this morning, the agency said.

Minor sea level fluctuations may continue, it added.

Dozens evacuated from Russian beach on Pacific coast

Rescue workers have evacuated about 60 people staying in a surf camp on Khalaktyrsky beach on Russia’s eastern coast of Kamchatka.

Russian media reported that the decision was taken by the Ministry of Emergency Situations due to the risk of a tsunami.

No significant increase in water levels was recorded, the report added.

Video footage showed young people with backpacks boarding a truck.

Hawaii tsunami warning downgraded to advisory

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has downgraded its tsunami warning for Hawaii to a tsunami advisory.

This means that people who had evacuated across the US state will be able to return home.

A tsunami advisory also means that the potential for strong currents or dangerous waves is expected to occur for those in or near the ocean. There may also be flooding of beach or harbour areas.

Waves as high as 1.3 metres (4.5ft) were observed in Kahului, Hawaii, by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Smaller waves of 45cm (1.5ft) were observed in Kawaihae and about 30cm (1ft) in Hilo Bay.

Tsunami alert issued for Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu

The US embassy in Port Moresby has issued a tsunami alert for Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, warning of “potential dangerous coastal flooding and/or strong and unusual currents dangerous to those in or very near the water”.

The embassy urged visitors to be prepared to move to higher ground and avoid coastal areas, beaches and rivers until further notice.

Major tsunami not expected to strike Hawaii: PTWC

The latest evaluation by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) says that based on all available data, a major tsunami is not expected to strike the US state of Hawaii.

It added, however, that sea level changes and strong currents may occur along all coasts that could be a hazard to swimmers and boaters, as well as to people near the shore at beaches and in harbours and marinas.

“The threat may continue for several hours after the initial wave arrival,” it said.

Pacific coastal areas on high alert

Sue Dawson, a professor of hazard geoscience at the University of Dundee in Scotland, says the position of the quake off the coast in Russia “makes the entire Pacific at risk”.

“Fortunately, there is a very effective warming system in place for the Pacific, so warnings have been in place to allow evacuation away from the coastal zones,” she told Al Jazeera.

Dawson said impacts such as the one caused by today’s earthquake typically depend on how deep within the Earth the tremor occurred, as shallow events will have greater impacts.

“There is likely to be warnings for hours to come as the tsunami waves take hours to travel across the ocean.”

Tsunami waves arrive in San Francisco and Seattle

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data indicates that the first waves hit San Francisco, in the US state of California, at 1:12am local time (08:12 GMT).

The National Weather Service warns that the extent of the impact is still unknown, as waves are expected to build in size over time.

Other cities reporting waves include Seattle, Monterey, and Eureka, California.

Waves of 30cm reported in Guam

The US Geological Survey is reporting wave heights of up to 30cm (1ft) in Guam.

It said similar wave heights will continue and then start to diminish in the coming hours.

“The Tsunami Advisory remains in effect for Guam and the [Northern Mariana Islands],” it said.

“Potential impacts include sea level fluctuations, minor flooding of beach and harbour areas, and strong and unusual ocean currents in harbours, bays, and other near-shore waters.”

State of emergency declared in Russia’s Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy

Authorities in the Russian city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, in the country’s Far East, say that all services have been put on high alert following the earthquake.

“A state of emergency is in effect in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy due to the earthquake that occurred today,” Mayor Yevgeny Belyaev said in a social media post.

Photos: Aftermath of quake in Russia’s Far East

First tsunami waves hit US West Coast

The first tsunami waves were detected in Monterey, California at 12:48am local time (05:48 GMT), according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.

Monterey has issued an evacuation order for Monterey Harbor, Breakwater Cove and nearby areas.