Leaked documents show US intelligence on Israel’s plans to attack Iran, sources say

CNN
—

The US is investigating a highly classified US intelligence leak about Israel’s plans to retaliate against Iran, according to three people familiar with the matter. One of the people in the know confirmed the authenticity of the documents.

The leak is “deeply troubling,” a US official told CNN.

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

They are marked top secret and have markings indicating that they can only be seen by the United States and its “Five Eyes” allies: Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

They describe the preparations Israel appears to be making for an attack on Iran. One of the documents, which it says was compiled by the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, says the plans involve Israel moving munitions.

Another document says it comes from the National Security Agency and describes exercises by the Israeli air force with air-to-surface missiles, which are also believed to be preparing for an attack on Iran. CNN does not directly quote or show the documents.

A US official said the investigation is looking into who had access to the alleged Pentagon Papers. Any such leak would automatically trigger an investigation by the FBI along with the Pentagon and US intelligence agencies. The FBI declined to comment.

The leak comes at an extremely sensitive time in US-Israel relations and is intended to anger the Israelis, who are preparing to attack Iran in response to Iran’s October 1 missile strike .

“If it is true that Israeli tactical plans to respond to Iran’s October 1st attack have been leaked, it is a serious breach,” said Mick Mulroy, former assistant secretary of defense for Middle East and retired CIA officer.

Mulroy added that “future coordination between the US and Israel could also be called into question. Trust is a key component in the relationship, and depending on how that trust was leaked it could be eroded.”

The National Security Council referred CNN to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Pentagon for comment. The Pentagon and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency declined to comment. CNN has reached out to the National Security Agency for comment.

Another US official said “these two documents are bad, but not horrible. The concern is whether there are more.”

It is not clear how the documents were made public, or whether they were deliberately hacked or leaked. The United States is already on alert about Iranian hacking campaigns: US intelligence agencies said in August that Iran had hacked documents belonging to the Donald Trump campaign.

Axios first reported on the leaked documents on Saturday.

A major leak of US intelligence last year also strained US relations with allies and partners, including South Korea and Ukraine, after a 21-year-old Air National Guardsman released highly classified information on the Discord social media platform.

CNN’s Evan Perez and Katie Bo Lillis contributed to this report.