US Investigates Leak of Classified Intelligence Regarding Israeli Plans to Strike Iran
Washington, D.C. – The United States is currently investigating a highly sensitive intelligence leak concerningIsraeli plans to retaliate against Iran, according to multiple reports from CNN and The New York Times.
The leak, which came to light on October18th, involved the publication of classified documents on the messaging platform Telegram by a pro-Iranian account named Middle East Observer. These documents, confirmed asauthentic by a CNN source, were marked Top Secret and were only accessible to the US and its Five Eyes intelligence alliance partners.
One document, originating from the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), detailedhow Israel was repositioning its missiles and weaponry. Another, sourced from the National Security Agency (NSA), outlined Israeli air force drills involving air-to-ground missiles.
The leaked documents also hinted at Israel’s possession of nuclear weapons, a fact the country has consistently refused to confirm. However, the documents stated that the US had not observed any indication of Israel planning to use nuclear weapons against Iran.
The source of the leak remains unclear, but US officials are reportedly investigating the possibility of a low-level government employee being involved.
According to Axios,the leaked documents suggest that the US intelligence community has been closely monitoring Israel’s preparations for a potential strike against Iran, including satellite surveillance of Israeli air bases.
The leak has raised concerns about the future of US-Israeli cooperation. Michael Malroy, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East,told CNN that trust is a key component of the relationship between the two countries, and whether that trust will be eroded depends on how the documents were leaked.
The leak comes at a particularly sensitive time for US-Israeli relations, as Israel is reportedly preparing to strike Iran. While a US official told Axios that theleak is extremely concerning, they believe it will not affect Israel’s operational plans.
This developing story will be updated as more information becomes available.
References:
- CNN: [Link to CNN article]
- The New York Times: [Link to NYT article]
- Axios: [Link to Axios article]
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