Washington: The leak of two highly classified U.S. intelligence documents reveals recent satellite imagery of Israeli military preparations for a potential strike on Iran, highlighting significant American concerns about Israel’s plans. U.S. officials are now focused on assessing the extent of this improper disclosure.
These documents, prepared in recent days by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), are responsible for analyzing data collected from American spy satellites. They began circulating on the Telegram app on Friday, primarily among pro-Iran accounts.
The intelligence documents offer crucial insights into a potential Israeli strike on Iran in the near future. This strike is anticipated as a retaliation for an Iranian assault earlier this month, which was itself a response to an Israeli attack.
One document, titled “Israel: Air Force Continues Preparations for Strike on Iran”, details recent military exercises that appeared to rehearse various elements of such a strike. The second document outlines how Israel is repositioning its missiles and weaponry in anticipation of possible Iranian counterstrikes.
Officials are divided regarding the severity of the leak, as it does not seem to unveil any new American capabilities. The documents describe the satellite images without displaying them. Some officials contend that if no additional documents surface, the damage could be limited, aside from revealing once again the extent to which the U.S. spies on one of its closest allies. Conversely, others argue that exposing an ally’s war plans presents a serious issue.
Privately, officials acknowledged the authenticity of the documents, although neither the NGA nor the Office of the Director of National Intelligence provided comments on the matter.
The intelligence contained within these documents may represent only a fragment of the information the United States has gathered. Notably, cyberstrikes or ground sabotage within Iran would likely evade detection by American spy satellites. President Joe Biden, when questioned in Germany on Friday about when Israel planned to strike and the nature of its targets, responded, “Yes and yes,” but declined to elaborate further. His response hinted at a possible understanding between him and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the types of targets to be struck; Biden had previously urged Israel to avoid targeting Iran’s nuclear sites and energy facilities, fearing that destroying such critical assets could provoke rapid escalation.
U.S. officials have expressed uncertainty regarding the origin of the leaked documents and are currently investigating the original source. Based on prior unauthorized releases, they suspect that a lower-level government employee may be responsible.
The documents describe satellite photos of an Israeli military exercise conducted on Tuesday, aimed at preparing for a potential retaliatory strike on Iran. Part of the exercise focused on air-to-air refueling and search-and-rescue operations, as detailed in the intelligence report. This exercise involved a force comparable in size to the one Israel deployed during a strike on Yemen on September 29.
Additionally, the documents outline Israel’s preparations involving long-range air-launched ballistic missiles, air-to-surface missiles, air refueling planes, and other support aircraft. Covert surveillance operations using drones to monitor Iran are also mentioned.
However, officials have noted that these documents do not provide a comprehensive overview of U.S. knowledge regarding Israeli intentions. Dated October 15, the documents represent only what analysts could discern from satellite imagery at that time.
Military and intelligence officials remain reeling from the fallout of a significant leak of classified materials that first appeared on a Discord server two years ago and became public in April 2023. Jack Teixeira, an Air National Guardsman, pleaded guilty to six counts of violating the Espionage Act in connection with the leak, resulting in a prison sentence of approximately 16 years.
Also Read | North Korea Denounces New U.S.-Led Sanctions Monitoring Team as “Unlawful”
Teixeira initially shared summaries of intelligence reports on Discord but later escalated to posting photographs of entire documents he had printed out—a breach deemed far more dangerous by officials.
While the U.S. government has not released a broad damage assessment, Teixeira’s actions exposed the depth of U.S. infiltration into Russian military commands and intelligence agencies, as well as its collection efforts concerning Ukraine, China, and other nations.
Also Read | Harris Vows to Continue Advocating for Ceasefire in Israel-Gaza Conflict
The extent to which sources of information were compromised as a result of Teixeira’s postings remains unclear, though U.S. officials have indicated that some intelligence collection efforts were severely impacted.
If the recent leak is limited to just a pair of satellite documents, it will likely be less damaging. However, the initial Discord leak also started with a few documents, ultimately leading to the release of many more pages.
