Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House of Representatives, confirmed that the US is investigating a leaked classified document describing an American evaluation of Israel’s plans for an attack on Iran.
The documents were reportedly posted online last week. They are said to show satellite imagery of Israel moving military assets to prepare for a response against Iran’s missile strike on 1 October.
CBS, BBC’s US partner reported that the documents, marked as top secret, could be shared within the Five Eyes Intelligence alliance of the US and Britain, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.
Israel has been deciding for weeks how and when it will respond to Iran’s most recent missile attack. Israel’s Defence Minister has warned that it will be “deadly precise and shocking”.
The two documents were reportedly published on a Telegram account affiliated with Iran on Friday. They appear to be attributed by the US National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGIA) and National Security Agency.
Johnson, the highest ranking member of Congress, said to CNN on Sunday, “the leakage is very concerning”.
“There are some serious allegations, there is an investigation underway, and I will get a briefing about that in a few hours,” said the Louisiana Republican lawmaker.
The Pentagon confirmed that it was aware of the reports about these documents in a press release, but declined to comment further.
The US agencies involved as well as the Israeli Government have not publicly commented about the leak.
CNN and Axios were the first to report the leak. This confirms that the US spy on its close ally Israel.
One document mentions Israel’s nuclear capability – something neither the US or Israel have ever acknowledged – and appears to rule out the use of this option in any planned attack.
Former American intelligence officials told the BBC that the unauthorised release was likely an attempt to expose and disrupt the scale of the planned retaliation.
Officials told the Associated Press that the US is investigating whether or not the information was intentionally stolen by a US agent.
The two documents seem to be based upon satellite data obtained between 15-16 October.
Reuters reports that the first exercise is titled “Israel: Air Force continues preparations for strike on Iran and conducts a second large-force employment exercise.” It explains ballistic and air to surface missile handling.
The second article is entitled: “Israel: Defense Forces continue key munitions preparations and covert UAV activity almost certainly for a strike on Iran”. This article discusses Israeli drone movement.
On Friday, US president Joe Biden stated that he had “a good understanding” of Israel’s plans.
“Do you know what Israel will do now to respond to Iran…and when they’ll actually respond?” a reporter asked him.
Biden replied, “Yes and yes.”
“Can you tell us?” “Can you tell us?”
“No, and no.”
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