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A US intelligence document showing Israeli military preparations for a looming attack on Iran has reportedly been leaked online.
Federal intelligence officials have confirmed the authenticity of top secret documents leaked by Telegram user “Middle_East_Spectator.”
According to CNN, there is an active investigation into who had access to the alleged Pentagon documents.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds up a map of the Middle East while speaking at the United Nations General Assembly on September 27, 2024. Reuters
The document is marked top secret and can only be viewed by those with proper authorization from the United States and the Five Eyes (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom).
The document describes military preparations by Israel at Ramat David airfield on October 15 and October 16, including the amount of missiles of various types.
CNN reports that multiple agencies, including the FBI and the Department of Defense, have been forced to conduct investigations into leaked intelligence reports.
The leak comes as the region waits with bated breath for Israel to respond to the barrage of missiles Iran launched into the country on October 1.
“If it is true that Israel’s tactical plans for the October 1st attack on Iran were leaked, this is a serious violation,” Mick Mulroy, a former assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, told CNN.
“Trust is a key component of the[U.S.-Israel]relationship, and depending on how this information was leaked, trust could be eroded,” Mulroy added.
Several agencies have been forced to investigate leaked intelligence reports, including the FBI and the Department of Defense. Reuters On October 19, 2024, an Israeli airstrike caused a large cloud of smoke to erupt in Beirut, Lebanon. AFP via Getty Images
In a statement posted to X, the Middle East Spectator wrote: They also have no knowledge about the authenticity of the documents.
“Furthermore, we considered that the documents had been leaked elsewhere on Telegram and were now part of the public domain.”
General Esmail Qaani, commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, attends the funeral of General Abbas Nirforshan in Tehran, Iran, on October 15, 2024. ZUMAPRESS.com
The Middle East Spectator statement added that the self-proclaimed “open source news aggregator” was “not aware of any further leaks of classified US documents.”
Earlier Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s villa was attacked with an explosive drone fired from Lebanon in an apparent assassination attempt. Prime Minister Netanyahu was not at his official residence at the time of the attempt.
