Leaked intelligence documents reveal information about Israel's plans to attack Iran, and Washington investigates

The United States is investigating the leak of highly classified U.S. intelligence about Israel’s plans to retaliate against Iran, according to three people familiar with the matter. One of the people confirmed the authenticity of the documents.

CNN quoted a US official as saying that the leak was "very disturbing."

The documents, dated October 15 and 16, began circulating online on Friday after being posted on Telegram by an account called Middle East Spectator.

The documents are classified as top secret and contain indications that they are intended only for the United States and its Five Eyes allies: Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

It describes what appears to be Israel’s preparations for a strike against Iran. One document, which it says was compiled by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, says the plans involve Israel moving munitions.

Another document, said to be from the National Security Agency, details Israeli air force training involving air-to-ground missiles, also believed to be in preparation for a strike on Iran.

A US official says an investigation is underway to determine who had access to the alleged Pentagon document. Any such leak would automatically trigger an investigation by the FBI, the Pentagon and US intelligence agencies.

It is not clear how the documents became public, or whether they were hacked or leaked intentionally.

The Hebrew website "Walla" also reported that senior American officials expressed their deep concern today, Saturday, regarding the leak of two American intelligence documents, which dealt with Israeli preparations for a possible attack on Iran, and their publication by an account on the "Telegram" application linked to Iran.

The leak comes at a time when Israel is working to complete its preparations to respond to the Iranian missile attack, which occurred on October 1, and appears to be an attempt to influence and disrupt it, according to the Hebrew website.

A senior Israeli official, who was not named by the website, said that the Israeli security establishment is aware of the leak and is taking it seriously. The leak occurred on Friday when the Middle East Spectator channel on Telegram claimed to have received documents from a US intelligence source about Israeli preparations for an attack on Iran.

The website pointed out that the aforementioned channel primarily publishes pro-Iranian propaganda content, and the profile of the X account it runs explicitly states that its operators are located in Iran.

The documents include a report by the US Department of Defense's Visual Intelligence Agency, which was distributed within the US intelligence community three days ago, and includes details of operations carried out in recent days at several Israeli Air Force bases, including the transfer of advanced weapons, intended, according to the report, to attack Iran.

The leak also indicates a very serious security breach within the American intelligence community, which led to highly classified information reaching elements linked to Iran, according to the Hebrew website. Senior American officials said, according to the Walla website, that this is a very serious incident, but indicated their assessment that the leak will not affect Israeli operational plans.

US President Joe Biden said on Friday that he was aware of how and when Israel would respond to Iran's missile attacks, but declined to go into details.

The American newspaper, The Washington Post, said last Monday that the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, informed the United States that Israel is prepared to strike Iranian military targets, not nuclear or oil targets.

Source: CNN + Hebrew Press