The United States is currently investigating a breach involving highly classified intelligence regarding Israel‘s intended response to Iran, as reported by three sources with knowledge of the situation. One source has verified the authenticity of the documents.
A US official expressed to CNN that the leak is “deeply concerning.”
The documents, dated October 15 and 16, started to circulate online on Friday after being shared on Telegram by an account named “Middle East Spectator.”
These documents are labeled as top secret and contain markings that restrict their viewing to the United States and its “Five Eyes” partners: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
Preparations that Israel seems to be undertaking for a potential strike against Iran are detailed in various documents. One document, attributed to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, indicates that Israel is repositioning munitions as part of its plans.
Another document, sourced from the National Security Agency, describes exercises conducted by the Israeli air force involving air-to-surface missiles, which are also believed to be preparations for an attack on Iran. CNN has not provided direct quotes or images from these documents.
A US official mentioned that the investigation is focused on identifying who had access to the purported Pentagon document. Any leak of this nature would prompt an automatic investigation by the FBI, in conjunction with the Pentagon and US intelligence agencies. The FBI has chosen not to comment on the matter.
This leak occurs at a particularly delicate time in US-Israeli relations and is likely to provoke frustration among Israeli officials, especially as they have been gearing up to respond to Iran’s missile attacks on October 1. One document also hints at a sensitive issue that Israel has consistently refrained from publicly acknowledging: the existence of nuclear weapons in the country. It states that the US has not observed any signs indicating that Israel intends to deploy a nuclear weapon against Iran.
Mick Mulroy, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East and a retired CIA officer, remarked, “If it is true that Israeli tactical plans to respond to Iran’s attack on October 1 have been leaked, it is a serious breach.” He further noted that “future coordination between the US and Israel could be jeopardized. Trust is essential in this relationship, and depending on the circumstances of the leak, that trust could be compromised.”
The National Security Council directed CNN to seek comments from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Pentagon. Both the Pentagon and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency opted not to provide any comments. CNN has also contacted the National Security Agency for their input.
One US official commented that while “these two documents are concerning, they are not catastrophic. The real worry lies in the possibility of additional documents being involved.”
It remains uncertain how the documents were made public, and whether they were the result of a hack or a deliberate leak. The US is currently on heightened alert regarding Iranian hacking activities; US intelligence agencies reported in August that Iran had accessed documents from Donald Trump’s campaign.
Axios was the first to report on the leaked documents this past Saturday.
A significant leak of US intelligence last year had already put a strain on relationships with allies and partners, including South Korea and Ukraine, after a 21-year-old Air National Guardsman shared highly classified information on the social media platform Discord.
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