The United States is investigating an apparent leak of “top secret” US documents on Israel

US officials are investigating the apparent leak of two top-secret US documents that show US spy agencies tracking possible Israeli preparations to carry out an attack on Iran, three US officials said.

The region has been awaiting Israel’s response to an Iranian missile barrage launched on October 1, which Iran says was a response to Israel’s invasion of Lebanon and the killing of its allies. including Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas in Tehran and the powerful leader of Hezbollah. Hassan Nasrallah, in Beirut.

Two US officials said the leaked documents appear to be authentic. The damage to national security appears to be limited in scope, although the assessment is still ongoing, according to a US official.

US intelligence agencies declined to comment on the documents, which were posted on the Telegram social media app on Friday.

Both documents have markings that say they are “Top Secret”. The heading of one of the documents reads: “Israel: Air Force Continues Preparations for Strike on Iran, Conducts Second Major Force Occupation Exercise October 15-16, 2024.”

The second document is called “National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency”, the name of the US spy agency that specializes in analyzing satellite images and other intelligence sources.

The document’s headline reads: “Israeli Defense Forces Continued Key Munitions Preparations and Covert UAV Activity Almost Certain for Strike on Iran, October 16, 2024,” referring to- se to unmanned aerial vehicles or drones.

The text of the documents reads: “We cannot definitively predict the scale and scope of an attack on Iran, and such an attack may occur without further GEOINT warning.”

It also claims that Israel appears to have dispersed its medium-range ballistic missiles, or MRBMs, as a defensive measure to protect them from Iranian attack and that there is no indication that Israel plans to launch a nuclear attack on the Iran.

“MRBM dispersal is almost certainly defensive,” the paper says. “We have seen no indication that Israel intends to use a nuclear weapon.”

The apparent leak of two documents comes after Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira pleaded guilty in March to posting a trove of top-secret documents on the social media app Discord. This leak was seen as a deeply damaging security lapse and prompted the intelligence community to do much more to prevent leaks.