Alleged US intel on Israeli preparations for strike on Iran appears online

An alleged leak of Pentagon documents detailing Israeli preparations for an attack on Iran in response to Tehran’s October 1 missile attack, has caused unease in the United States and Israel, according to a report Saturday.

The two files were published by a pro-Iran Telegram account, the “Middle East Spectator,” which claimed they were sent by a source in the Pentagon and detailed US observations of measures taken by the Israeli Air Force on October 15-16 in the lead-up to an attack.

The documents have not been authenticated by news outlets, and the Pentagon and the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence have not officially commented on the alleged leak.

However, CNN reported that US authorities are investigating the apparent leak of highly classified information, citing three unnamed people familiar with the matter. The outlet quoted a US official casting the development as “deeply concerning.”

Before that, a senior Israeli official told the Axios news site that the defense establishment was taking the leak very seriously. A US official said that the alleged leak, while extremely concerning, wouldn’t impact plans for an attack against Iran.

The documents, allegedly showing a visual intelligence report by the Department of Defense National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), noted observing IAF exercises using air-launched ballistic missiles (ALBMs), air-to-surface ballistic missiles, fighter jets, UAVs, and refueling tankers previously used during Israeli strikes on Houthi sites in Yemen.

According to the documents, the IAF has handled at least 16 Golden Horizon ALBMs and 40 IS02 (Rocks) ALBMs since October 8.

My Colleague, Middle East Spectator, has leaked some documents relating to an NGIA analysis done by the Pentagon in recent activities in Israel relating to a response against Iran.

The documents are probably real. https://t.co/vkACSN1Lo5 pic.twitter.com/5qIllcvDtL

— MedManOG (@MedManOG) October 17, 2024

The Islamic Republic has been bracing for an Israeli reprisal after its latest direct attack on Israel, in which it fired 200 ballistic missiles that sent most of Israel to bomb shelters on October 1, killed a Palestinian man in the West Bank, and caused minor damage in residential areas and at military bases. Iran said the missile assault came in response to strikes in Lebanon that killed the top leadership of the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group and a July blast in Tehran that killed Hamas politburo head Ismail Haniyeh.

Channel 12 news on Saturday evening quoted an unnamed Israeli source saying Israel hopes that a drone attack on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private home in Caesarea earlier in the day would give Israel “greater legitimacy for a wider range of targets” in Iran if necessary.

Netanyahu said the drone attack represented an attempted assassination and blamed it on “the agents of Iran.”

Washington has sought to temper Jerusalem’s plans to retaliate for the October 1 attack — which forced most of the country to rush to bomb shelters and safe rooms and killed a Palestinian man in the West Bank — fearing that the escalating tit-for-tats could spark a wider war, drawing in others in the region.

It has urged Israel not to strike Iran’s nuclear or oil facilities.

The attack caused damage in Israel, including in Israeli airbases, though the military has said that no aircraft or critical infrastructure were hit, and the IAF is operating at full capacity.