MS NOW reported over the weekend that Russia has provided Iran with information that could help Iranian forces strike American ships, aircraft and bases in the region, according two U.S. officials, one whom said point-blank, “Russia is providing intelligence help to Iran.”

The Associated Press and The Washington Post had related reports, with the latter noting, “The assistance … signals that the rapidly expanding conflict now features one of America’s chief nuclear-armed competitors with exquisite intelligence capabilities.” On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” host Kristen Welker pressed Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on this, and he made no effort to deny the accuracy of the reporting, emphasizing that Iran’s “strategic partnership” with Russia is “not a secret.”

Common sense might suggest that Donald Trump and his team should express outrage over this development and condemn any effort to help Iran target American personnel and resources.

It’s just not quite working out that way.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, for example, told Fox News on Friday that it “does not really matter” whether Russia is sharing intelligence with Iran to target U.S. assets. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth similarly told CBS’ “60 Minutes” that the administration is “not concerned” about whether Russia is assisting Iran.

At a White House event on Friday, the president himself brushed off the issue, chiding a reporter for asking what Trump described as “a stupid question” — because he wanted to focus solely on college athletics, not the deadly, ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

If we were to stop here, it would be a striking story about a Republican administration that has expressed little more than indifference to serious allegations. But as it turns out, Team Trump isn’t just shrugging its shoulders about Russia’s aid to Iran during the war, it’s also taking steps that would benefit Russia as it aids Iran during the war. Reuters reported:

Trump administration ​officials on Sunday defended a decision to temporarily lift some sanctions on Russian oil and predicted that a sharp increase in ‌gasoline prices resulting from the Iran war would last only weeks.

Appearing on multiple TV talk shows, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said a waiver issued last week to allow Indian purchases of Russian oil would alleviate pressure on the global market.

(It’s worth noting for context that Trump has publicly boasted about getting India to stop buying Russian oil, including at a White House press conference in late February. So much for that idea.)

On CBS’ “Face the Nation,” host Margaret Brennan asked the energy secretary about the decision to suspend those sanctions, which would benefit Russia financially. Wright responded that the administration is “worried about American consumers,” which might be true but didn’t negate the underlying point.

Around the same time, on “Meet the Press,” Welker asked the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations about why the Republican administration would choose to help Russia right now.

“I wouldn’t characterize it that way,” Waltz replied.

Whether or not the former White House national security adviser would characterize it that way, the fact remains that Russia’s assistance to Iran certainly didn’t stop Team Trump from easing oil sanctions on Russia.

No one has suggested the White House is helping Russia because of its support for Iran — this is almost certainly because of anxieties about rapidly rising oil prices — but that the two developments are unfolding at the same time makes Trump’s move that much tougher to defend.

This hasn’t gone unnoticed on Capitol Hill.

“Russia is our adversary,” Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska told MS NOW last week. “They hate us and what the U.S. stands for. The White House has had a moral blindness when it comes to Putin and Russia.”

Republican Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, a former chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, added, “This is an intolerable escalation by the Kremlin — one they must come to deeply regret. I call on the administration to impose swift and severe consequences for this blatant attempt to endanger American lives.”

The White House appears to have come to the opposite conclusion.