In the United States, an investigation has begun into the leak of highly classified intelligence data concerning Israeli plans to carry out a "retaliation" operation against Iran. According to CNN, citing three knowledgeable sources, the documents, dated October 15 and 16, are marked "top secret" and are intended exclusively for the United States and its allies in the "Five Eyes" intelligence alliance. One of the sources confirmed their authenticity, which caused serious concern among American officials.
Details of the leak
The documents describe Israel's preparations to strike Iran in response to a missile attack that occurred in early October. The US National Geospatial Intelligence Agency recorded the movement of munitions, and the National Security Agency reported on training flights of the Israeli Air Force using air-to-surface missiles. However, according to the American services, no signs of Israel preparing an attack with the use of nuclear weapons have been found at this time.
"If the leak of Israel's tactical plans really took place, this is a serious violation," said Mick Mulroy, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East.
Investigation
The FBI, Pentagon and US intelligence agencies automatically launched an investigation after the incident was discovered. The persons who had access to secret documents are currently being identified. Such leaks pose a threat to both US national security and international relations, especially in the context of difficult relations with Israel.
The leak comes at an extremely tense time for US-Israeli relations. The US actively supports Israel, but such a situation could cause serious dissatisfaction in Tel Aviv, which would make coordination between the two countries difficult.
Previous leaks
This is not the first case of a leak of classified information in the United States. In April of last year, Pentagon documents containing data on the positions of the Armed Forces and the supply of military equipment from allies appeared on the Internet. Then the FBI detained 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guard intelligence officer Jack Teixeira. In addition, in May of this year, another leak occurred in the USA - the personal information of 237,000 civil servants was exposed due to a cyber attack on the Department of Transportation.
