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The United States is investigating the unauthorized leak of classified documents assessing Israel‘s Plans to Attack Iran, according to three U.S. officials who spoke to the Associated Press. The documents are believed to be authentic, as noted by a fourth U.S. official.
The documents, attributed to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, indicate that Israel was mobilizing military assets in response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack on October 1. These documents were eligible for sharing within the “Five Eyes” intelligence network, which includes the U.S., the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. Marked as top secret, the documents were posted on the Telegram messaging app and were first reported by CNN and Axios on Saturday. The officials spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
The investigation is also focusing on how the documents were obtained—whether through an intentional leak by a member of the U.S. intelligence community or by another method, such as hacking. Additionally, authorities are examining if any other intelligence information was compromised. Efforts are being made to identify who had access to the documents before they were leaked online.
The U.S. has urged Israel to push for a ceasefire in Gaza following the elimination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and has also cautioned Israel against expanding military operations in northern Lebanon to avoid the risk of a broader regional conflict. However, Israeli leadership has consistently emphasized that it will not let Iran’s missile attack go unanswered.
The Pentagon released a statement acknowledging awareness of the leaked documents but did not provide further comments.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the leaked documents.
The documents first surfaced online on Friday via a Telegram channel claiming to have been leaked by someone within the U.S. intelligence community. The information appeared to have been gathered primarily through satellite image analysis.
One of the leaked documents bore similarities to previous materials from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency that were leaked by Jack Teixeira, an Air National Guardsman who pleaded guilty in March to leaking highly classified military documents about Russia’s war in Ukraine and other national security matters.
The Telegram channel involved in the leak identifies itself as based in Tehran, Iran’s capital. It has previously shared content supportive of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the so-called “Axis of Resistance,” which includes Middle Eastern militant groups armed by the Islamic Republic.
Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell contributed to this report from Jerusalem.
