US probes unauthorized release of secret documents on Israeli plans to attack Iran

2024-10-20 16:45:27, Kosova & Bota CNA

US probes unauthorized release of secret documents on Israeli plans to attack

The United States is investigating how two top-secret documents assessing Israel's plans to attack Iran were obtained and published without authorization. The news was made known to the Associated Presst agency by three American officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The documents appear to belong to the US Geospatial Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency. It said Israel was moving military assets to launch a strike in response to Iran's Oct. 1 ballistic missile attack.

The documents should have been shared with the so-called "Five Eyes", which includes the United States, Great Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

The documents, marked as top secret, were posted on the Telegram messaging app and were first reported by the CNN television network and the Axios news agency.

Investigations have focused on how the documents were obtained - including whether it was a deliberate leak by a member of the US intelligence community or whether they were obtained through another method, such as hacking. It is also being investigated whether any other intelligence information was compromised, said one of the officials.

He added that work is underway to determine who had access to the documents before they were posted.

Washington has urged Israel to take advantage of the elimination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and press for a cease-fire in Gaza. It has also urged Israel not to further expand military operations in northern Lebanon, risking a wider regional war. However, Israeli leaders have repeatedly stressed that they will not let Iran's missile attack go unanswered.

In a statement, the Pentagon said it was aware of reports about the leaked documents, but officials had no further comment.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.

The documents first appeared online on Friday via a Telegram channel. The post claimed they were provided by someone within the US intelligence community and then by the US Department of Defense. The Telegram channel involved in the document leak self-identifies as based in Tehran, the capital of Iran.

One of the two documents is similar in style to a US National Geospatial Intelligence Agency material that was illegally obtained and released by Jack Teixeira, a former member of the National Guard. He pleaded guilty in March to releasing top-secret military documents related to Russia's war against Ukraine as well as other secret documents related to national security./ VOA