WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is investigating an unauthorized release of classified documents assessing Israel’s plans to attack Iran, three U.S. officials told The Associated Press. A fourth U.S. official said the documents appear legitimate.
The documents are attributed to the US Geospatial Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency and note that Israel continues to move military assets to carry out a military strike in response to Iran’s blistering ballistic missile attack on October 1. They could be shared within the “Five Eyes”, which are the US, Great Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
The documents, which are marked top secret, were posted online on Telegram and first reported by CNN and Axios. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
The investigation is also examining how the documents were obtained — including whether it was an intentional leak by a member of the U.S. intelligence community or obtained through another method, such as a hack — and whether other intelligence information was compromised, one of the officials said. . As part of that investigation, officials are trying to determine who had access to the documents before they were posted, the official said.
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The documents emerged as the US urged Israel to benefit from its elimination Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and urged a ceasefire in Gaza, and also urgently warned Israel against expanding military operations in the north in Lebanon and risking a wider regional war. However, Israel’s leadership has repeatedly emphasized that it will not let Iran’s missile attack go unanswered.
In a statement, the Pentagon said it was aware of the reports about the documents but would not comment further.