US officials confirm authenticity of leaked documents on Israel-Iran conflict

The US government is currently investigating a significant security breach involving the unauthorized release of classified documents detailing Israel's military strategies concerning potential actions against Iran.

Attributed to the US Geospatial Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, the documents reveal that Israel was in the process of mobilizing military assets for a potential strike in response to Iran’s significant ballistic missile attack on October 1, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

These documents were shareable among the "Five Eyes" alliance, which includes the US, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.   Marked as top secret, the documents were disseminated via the Telegram messaging app and were first reported by CNN and Axios. The officials requested anonymity, as they were not authorized to speak on this sensitive matter publicly.

The investigation is also looking into how the documents were acquired, including whether they were intentionally leaked by someone within the US intelligence community or obtained through other means, such as hacking. Officials are assessing whether any additional intelligence information was compromised and are working to identify who had access to the documents before they were made public.  

Meanwhile, the US has urged Israel to capitalize on the recent elimination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and to push for a cease-fire in Gaza. Additionally, the US has warned Israel against expanding military operations in northern Lebanon to avoid escalating into a broader regional conflict. However, Israeli leadership has consistently emphasized that it will not ignore Iran’s missile attack.   In response to the reports about the documents, the Pentagon acknowledged awareness of the situation but did not provide any further comments.

The Israeli military did not promptly respond to a request for comments regarding the leak of the two documents. The documents first surfaced online through a Telegram channel, which claimed they had been leaked by someone within the US intelligence community, and later by the US Defence Department. The information in the documents appeared to be entirely derived from satellite image analysis.  

One of the documents resembled materials previously leaked by Jack Teixeira, a member of the Air National Guard who pleaded guilty in March to leaking highly classified military documents related to Russia's war in Ukraine and other national security issues. 

The Telegram channel associated with the leak claims to be based in Tehran, Iran's capital, and has a history of publishing memes featuring Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as content supportive of Tehran's self-identified "Axis of Resistance," which includes various militant groups in the Middle East that are armed by the Islamic Republic.

By Naila Huseynova