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The US is examining a leak of very secret information about Israel's plan to attack on Iran according to three people who know about this situation. Onr of them confirmed that documents are authentic.
The leak is “deeply concerning,” a US official told CNN.
The documents from October 15 and 16, began spreading online on Friday after a Telegram account named "Middle East Spectator" posted them.
The documents are labeled as top secret and have marking gesturing that these documents are meant to be seen by US and its “Five Eyes” allies — Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
Documents shows the preparations of Israel's attack on Iran. One of the documents, created by National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, mentions that Israel is moving weapons around.
Another document attributed to the National Security Agency, describes the exercises of Israeli air-force including air-to-surface missiles. These indicate that Israel is preparing for attack on Iran. CNN is not quoting or showing the documents directly.
A US official stated that US is investigating who had access to the alleged Pentagon document. Any such leak would automatically lead to an investigation by the FBI working with pentagon and US intelligence agencies. FBI declined to comment.
The information was leaked at very sensitive time in US-Israeli relations and is likely to upset Israel who have been preparing to attack Iran in response to Iran’s missile barrage on October 1. One of the documents stated something that Israel has never confirmed publicly that "Israel has nuclear weapons". The document states that US has never seen any sign that Israel plans to attack Iran with nuclear weapons.
“If it is true that Israeli tactical plans to respond to Iran’s attack on October 1 have been leaked, it is a serious breach,” said Mick Mulroy, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East and a retired CIA officer.
Mulroy added that “the future coordination between the US and Israel could be challenged as well. Trust is a key component in the relationship, and depending on how this was leaked that trust could be eroded.”
The National Security Council directed CNN to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Pentagon for comments. However, both the Pentagon and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency declined to comment. CNN has also contacted the National Security Agency for a response.
Another US official said that “these two documents are bad, but not horrible. The concern is if there are more.”
It is not clear how these documents became public whether if these documents were hacked or leaked intentionally.
The US is already on high alert about Iranian hacking campaigns. In August, US intelligence agencies said that Iran had hacked documents from Donald Trump's campaign.
Axios first reported on the leaked documents Saturday.
A major leak of US intelligence last year also put strain on US's relationships with allies and partners including South Korean and Ukraine. This happened after a 21-year old Air National Guardsman posted very sensitive information on Discord.