A senior U.S. commander expressed concerns over what he described as “the growing relationship between Russia and Iran and the drones being supplied to Russia… Who would have ever thought that the Russian Federation would need to go to Iran for military capabilities, and yet we’re there. That means that Russia actually owes Iran something”. He further noted that “there could be some amount of cooperation and collusion between Russia and Iran that’s playing out here in Syria… It is something that we watch very closely. That burgeoning relationship is of a military concern to me”.