CNN —
The publication on social media of two classified U.S. intelligence documents detailing Israel’s preparations for an attack on Iran has sparked a scramble within the U.S. government to figure out how they were leaked. A close investigation in the early stages is focused on who leaked the information. Access to documentation.
The FBI is leading the investigation, working with Pentagon agents and intelligence agencies, according to U.S. officials briefed on the matter.
The FBI confirmed the investigation Tuesday.
“The FBI is investigating the alleged leak of classified documents and is working closely with our partners in the Department of Defense and the intelligence community. As this is an ongoing investigation, we have no further comment,” the agency said in a statement. mentioned in.
The White House officially announced on Monday that there is currently no indication that any documents beyond these two have been leaked or made public.
But the revelation of two documents believed to have been produced by two Pentagon intelligence agencies, the National Security Agency and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, has left U.S. officials at a highly sensitive time in U.S.-Israel relations. gave a serious warning.
Investigators have been working in recent days to authenticate the documents and determine who had access to them, officials said.
This focus means that at this point the FBI and other law enforcement agencies are working on the theory that this breach was most likely the work of government insiders, rather than a cyber intrusion. This is one that shows that.
Both documents were widely accessible products, two sources familiar with the U.S. intelligence community said. However, at least one appears to have been scanned from an officially printed briefing book. This could provide an important starting point for investigators. The Pentagon, like other federal agencies, tracks when employees print classified documents. According to these sources, the number of people who printed these pages is likely to be relatively small.
However, the investigation is believed to be still in its early stages and no conclusions have been reached, officials said.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Monday that authorities do not yet know how the documents were released and that the Pentagon is continuing to investigate.
Kirby also said there was no reason to believe similar documents would be released “at this time.”
“At this time, there is no indication that there is any expectation that such additional documents will be released into the public domain,” he said.
The document, dated Oct. 15 and 16, began circulating online Friday after it was posted on Telegram by an account called “Middle East Spectator.” These are marked as top secret and marked to indicate that they can only be viewed by the United States and its “Five Eyes” allies: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
One of the documents, prepared by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, says the plan includes Israel moving munitions.
Another document comes from the National Security Agency and purports to outline Israeli Air Force exercises involving air-to-ground missiles that are also believed to be preparations for an attack on Iran. CNN does not directly quote from or point to the document.
Underscoring the sensitive nature of the breach, U.S. officials were extremely tight-lipped about the investigation on Monday. Officially, multiple government agencies refused to even confirm that an investigation was underway.
The Middle East Spectator account said in a statement over the weekend that it was “not aware of any further leaks of classified U.S. documents” and had “no connection to the original source, believed to be a whistleblower within the U.S. Department of State.” ” he said. defense. ”
One U.S. official said intelligence agencies are not so worried about what the document says, but rather the fact that it was leaked. There is a quiet acceptance that the US is spying on even its allies, but at a time when the US is desperately trying to end a series of interconnected conflicts in which Israel is currently embroiled. , publicly leaking US surveillance of Israel risks straining relations.
A major leak of U.S. information last year threatened U.S. relations with allies and partners, including South Korea and Ukraine, after 21-year-old Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira posted classified information on the social media platform Discord. I was nervous.
At that time, the FBI was able to act quickly and identify Teixeira. Teixeira left behind an electronic trail that helped investigators zero in quickly. Texeira is currently serving a 16-year sentence for the leak, after which the Pentagon announced it had narrowed down the number of people who could access certain documents.
This story has been updated with additional responses.
CNN’s Natasha Bertrand and Zachary Cohen contributed to this report.
