FBI says it’s probing leak of US intel on Israel’s attack plans for Iran
White House says still unclear if classified documents were intentionally leaked or hacked, no signs additional classified information has made its way to public domain
WASHINGTON — The FBI said Tuesday that it is investigating the unauthorized release of US classified documents on Israel’s preparation for a potential retaliatory attack on Iran.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Monday that US President Joe Biden’s administration is still not certain if the classified information was intentionally leaked or hacked but that officials don’t have any indication at this point of “additional documents like this finding their way into the public domain.”
“The president remains deeply concerned about any leakage of classified information into the public domain. That is not supposed to happen, and it’s unacceptable when it does,” he said.
The Associated Press and other outlets reported Saturday that US officials were investigating the release. The FBI confirmed the investigation for the first time on Tuesday and said in a statement that it is “working closely with our partners in the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community.” It did not comment further.
The documents are attributed to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency and note that Israel is still moving military assets in place to conduct a military strike in response to Iran’s blistering ballistic missile attack on October 1, based on satellite imagery from October 15-16.
They were shareable within the “Five Eyes,” an intelligence alliance comprised of the US, Great Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
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
Marked top secret, the documents first appeared online Friday on the Telegram messaging app and quickly spread among Telegram channels popular with Iranians.
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.
Israel has signaled that its expected retaliation for the missile barrage could be widened as a result of a Hezbollah drone attack on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private home in Caesarea on Saturday, which Jerusalem has referred to as an attempted assassination of the premier by “agents of Iran.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
