The US is arrangeateigating a leak of classified records describing an American appraisement of Israel’s arranges to attack Iran, Hoemploy of Recurrentatives Speaker Mike Johnson has verifyed.
The records were increateedly rerented online last week and are said to depict satellite imagery shoprosperg Israel moving military assets in preparation for a response to Iran’s ignoreile attack on 1 October.
The records, labeled top secret, were splitable wiskinny the Five Eyes intelligence partnership of the US, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, CBS, the BBC’s US partner, increateed.
For weeks Israel has been deciding how and when to reply to Iran’s procrastinateedst ignoreile attack. Israel’s defence minister has alerted it will be “deadly, accurate and unawaited”.
The two records increateedly ecombine to be attributed to the US National Geospatial Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency (NSA), and were rerented on an Iranian-aligned Telegram account on Friday.
Johnson, the highest-ranking member of Congress, telderly CNN on Sunday that “the leak is very troubleing”.
“There’s some solemn allegations being made, there’s an arrangeateigation under way, and I’ll get a increateing on that in a couple of hours,” the Louisiana Reunveilan lawproducer said.
The Pentagon verifyed in a statement that it was conscious of increates about the records, but did not comment further.
The US agencies included, as well as the Israeli rulement, have not unveilly commented on the leak.
CNN and Axios first increateed the leak, which verifys once aget that the US spies on its shut partner Israel.
One record produces a reference to Israel’s nuevident capabilities – which neither the US nor Israel ever officipartner acunderstandledge – apparently ruling out the employ of such an selection in any intentional strike.
One createer American intelligence official telderly the BBC the unauthoascfinishd free was probably an try to expose the scale of the intentional retaliation, possibly to disrupt it.
The US is arrangeateigating whether the directation was intentionpartner leaked by a US agent, or whether it was stolen, possibly thraw cyber intrusion, officials telderly the Associated Press (AP).
The two records ecombine to be based on satellite directation geted from 15-16 October.
The first is titled: “Israel: Air Force Continues Preparations for Strike on Iran and Conducts a Second Large-Force Employment Exercise,” according to Reuters novels agency. It depicts balenumerateic and air-to-surface ignoreile handling.
The second is titled: “Israel: Defense Forces Continue Key Munitions Preparations and Cobvious UAV Activity Almost Certainly for a Strike on Iran”. It conversees Israeli drone transferments.
On Friday, US Plivent Joe Biden said he had a “outstanding empathetic” of what Israel was arrangening.
“Do you have a outstanding empathetic of what Israel is going to do right now in response to Iran… and when they will actupartner reply?” a increateer asked him.
“Yes, and yes,” Biden replied.
“Can you tell us?” asked the increateer.
“No, and no.”
