Petraeus calls for immediate sanctions on Russia over alleged intelligence support to Iran

Retired four-star Gen. David Petraeus is calling for immediate sanctions against Russia after reports that Moscow is providing Iran with intelligence support — assistance he says could explain the improved accuracy of Iranian missile and drone attacks.

"[President Trump] should ask Congress to pass the sanctions bill that is in the Senate…" Petraeus told "The Sunday Briefing." 

"[Sen. Lindsey Graham] has over 90 out of 100 senators supporting it. It would be a very powerful signal to Russia. It would complement what the EU has done, which has been very impressive in this regard as well, and I think it's long since time that the sanctions are slapped on Russia, especially now that apparently they're providing the intelligence," he added.

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The general's remarks came after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday that a military partnership between Iran and Russia has been no "secret" in the past and that such a partnership "is still there and will continue in the future."

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Araghchi's appearance came after reports that Russia has been providing Iran with intelligence to help target U.S. military assets.

When asked about the reports, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, "It clearly is not making any difference with respect to the military operations in Iran because we are completely decimating them."

Petraeus said Iran does not possess the type of intelligence required to target U.S. assets with precision on its own, and Russian interference would explain "some of the accuracy of the missiles and drone strikes."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.