The leak of a pair of top-secret US intelligence documents containing recent satellite images showing Israeli military preparations for a possible attack on Iran underscores America’s deep concerns about Israel’s plans. U.S. officials are also working to understand the scale of the unauthorized disclosures.
The two documents were recently created by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which is responsible for analyzing images and information collected by U.S. reconnaissance satellites. The information began circulating on the Telegram app on Friday and was mainly discussed by pro-Iranian accounts.
The document provides an interpretation of satellite imagery and provides insight into the possibility of an Israeli attack on Iran in the coming days. Such attacks were expected in retaliation for attacks by Iran earlier this month, which were themselves a response to attacks by Israel.
One of the documents is titled “Israel: Air Force Continues Preparations for Attack on Iran” and describes recent exercises that appear to have rehearsed elements of such an attack. The second document details in detail how Israel is repositioning its missiles and weapons in case Iran strikes back with an attack of its own.
Officials disagreed over the severity of the breach, and there was no indication that any new U.S. capabilities were revealed. Satellite imagery is mentioned in the document, but not shown. Some officials say that unless more documents come to light, it will not only reveal the extent to which the United States is spying on one of its closest allies, but also limit the damage. He says it will become a target. Other officials say the revelation of allied war plans is a serious problem.
Officials privately confirmed the document’s authenticity, but the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment.
The information in the report may reflect only some of the information collected by the United States. Iranian cyberattacks and sabotage on the ground would not be easily visible to American spy satellites. President Biden was asked on Friday whether he knew when Israel planned its attack in Germany and what targets it had chosen. “Yes, I am,” he said, declining to discuss the topic further.
But his comments seemed to suggest that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had reached some understanding about what targets would be attacked. Biden previously called on Israel to avoid Iran’s nuclear facilities and its energy facilities. The president has repeatedly expressed concern that Iran would rapidly escalate if these treasured targets were destroyed.
U.S. officials said they do not know where the documents were taken from and are still searching for the original source of the leak. But officials said it was most likely a lower-level government official, based on previous unauthorized public information.
The document includes satellite images of Israeli military exercises on October 15 in preparation for a possible retaliatory attack on Iran. According to intelligence reports, part of the purpose of the exercise was training in air-to-air refueling and search and rescue operations. The report said the exercise involved a force similar to that used by Israel in its September 29 attack on Yemen.
The document also discusses Israel’s preparations for long-range air-launched ballistic missiles. air-to-ground missile. Aerial refueling aircraft. and other support aircraft. The document also states that Israel used drones to secretly monitor Iran.
But officials said the document was not a comprehensive assessment of what the United States knows about Israel’s intentions. The document, dated Oct. 15, only shows what analysts analyzing the satellite images could determine at the time.
Military and intelligence officials remain distressed by the revelation of a trove of classified material on a variety of subjects that was first published on a Discord server two years ago and made public in April 2023. Air National Guard Officer Jack Teixeira pleaded. In exchange for about 16 years in prison, he was found guilty of six counts of violating the Espionage Act for releasing material.
Airman Teixeira began by posting a summary of the intelligence report on his Discord server, but went on to share a photo of the entire printed document. Officials say this is a far more dangerous breach.
Although the U.S. government has not released a comprehensive damage assessment, the release of Air Force Officer Teixeira’s documents reveals how deeply the U.S. has penetrated Russia’s military command and intelligence services. Also published were US collections on Ukraine, China, and various other countries.
It is unclear how many intelligence sources were shut down as a result of Teixeira’s Discord posts, but U.S. officials said some intelligence collections were significantly compromised.
The damage would be much smaller if the latest leak had been limited to a pair of satellite documents. But the Discord leak started with a few documents, and dozens of pages have since been revealed.
Farnaz Fassihi contributed reporting from New York.
