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The US has begun investigating after threat actors published classified documents containing the US’ judgment of Israel’s plans to attack Iran.
The documents appeared on Telegram channel Middle East Spectator last Friday (18 October), according to White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby.
“The President remains deeply concerned about any leakage of classified information into the public domain. That is not supposed to happen, and it’s unacceptable when it does,” Kirby said.
It is currently unclear whether the documents were leaked as the result of a cyber attack or a leak; however, military analysts have said that the leaked documents share consistencies with previously leaked documents, such as the phrasing of headings that said “Top Secret” and had the acronym for “Foreign Government Intelligence”, FGI.
The classification markings also suggest that they were only to be viewed by the Five Eyes alliance.
The two leaked documents reportedly contain US analysis of Israel’s military activity, based on satellite imagery.
The data was analysed by the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency from 15 to 16 October. According to the files, the Israeli military conducted covert drone activities, which were “almost certainly” for a strike on Iran.
They also “handled” air-launched ballistic missile (ABLM) systems called Golden Horizon and Rocks.
Over the weekend, House Speaker Mike Johnson said an investigation into the leak is underway.
“The leak is very concerning. There [are] some serious allegations being made there, an investigation underway, and I’ll get a briefing on that in a couple of hours,” Johnson told CNN during its State of the Union. “We’re following it closely.”
“I talked to my friend Bibi, Prime Minister Netanyahu, yesterday to encourage him,” he said. ” I think that the United States needs to stand unequivocally by our ally there … we’re on a precipice … of a new era of security and freedom for Israel. And I think we’re very close.”
In response to the recent missile barrage Iran deployed, Israel has been planning how to attack Iran for a number of weeks, with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant saying the response would be “deadly, precise and surprising”.
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