Israel's attack plans leaked, US investigating
Title : Israel's attack plans leaked, US investigating
Link : Israel's attack plans leaked, US investigating
One of the sources confirmed that the leaked documents were authentic.
The documents, dated October 15-16, began circulating Friday after an Iran-affiliated account named, "The Middle East Spectator," posted them on Telegram.
Axios added that the Middle East Spectator said that it had "received" the documents "from a source in the US intelligence community."
A US official told CNN that the leak is "deeply concerning."
The documents describe Israel's preparations for a strike against Iran, and were marked top secret and were intended to be seen only by the US and its "Five Eyes" allies: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK, CNN added.
One of the documents, which appears to have been compiled by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, says the plans "involve Israel moving munitions around." Another document sourced to the National Security Agency outlines IAF exercises involving air-to-surface missiles.
According to Axios, the report also states that US signals intelligence showed that the IAF conducted a large exercise involving intelligence planes "and likely fighter jets trained" for a potential attack on Iran. Israeli drone units were also preparing for such an attack, the intelligence report indicated.
CNN did not show the documents or quote directly from them.
According to a US official, the investigation surrounding the leak is examining who had access to the alleged Pentagon document.
Mick Mulroy, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East and a retired CIA officer, told CNN, "If it is true that Israeli tactical plans to respond to Iran’s attack on October 1 have been leaked, it is a serious breach."
He also stressed that, "future coordination between the US and Israel could be challenged as well. Trust is a key component in the relationship, and depending on how this was leaked that trust could be eroded."
Another US official noted that "these two documents are bad, but not horrible. The concern is if there are more."
A US official told Axios that although the alleged leak is "extremely concerning," he does not believe it would affect Israel's operational plans.
A senior Israeli official told Axios that the defense echelon is aware of the matter, and takes it very seriously.
It is not clear how the documents were made public, or if they were hacked or deliberately leaked, CNN noted.
The Iranian Telegram account Middle East Spectator, which uploaded the documents, responded to the opening of the investigation: "We are collectors of news from open sources. We thought the documents were circulating on Telegram. We do not know the identity of the leaker and reject attempts by American and Zionist media to intimidate our writers."
CNN reached out to the National Security Agency for comment, as well as to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Pentagon for comment. The Pentagon and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency declined to comment to CNN.
The Pentagon and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment on the leaked documents to Axios, but did not dispute their authenticity.
Israel's attack plans leaked, US investigating
Israel's attack plans leaked, US investigating
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