The Pentagon is looking into the leak of intelligence information related to an upcoming Israeli attack on Iran. It was America’s responsibility to keep the information safe, officials say.
How, who and why was U.S. intelligence on Israel’s forthcoming counter attack against Iran leaked?
The leak likely has “deeply” damaged U.S.-Israeli relations during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, says Victoria Coates, Heritage Foundation vice president in charge of the Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy. The leak is “very, very concerning,” she says.
After Iran fired nearly 200 ballistic missiles Oct. 1 at Israel, the Jewish state announced that it would respond. The leaked documents don’t include specific targets that Israel plans to strike, but do include surveillance information.
Release of that information “definitely” has changed Israel’s original response plan, Coates says.
The FBI believes it was likely a government insider that leaked the Israeli plans to the Telegram platform rather than a hack. They state they are getting closer to identifying the culprit as there is only a small pool of people that scanned document.https://t.co/Eeme2nDzlN
— Robbie Mouton (@mcgmouton57) October 22, 2024
“The Iranians clearly have this information,” she says. “We don’t know what other information they have, and so I think Israel can and should take the time they need to develop an alternative plan.”
Coates joins this episode of “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss how the U.S. will find the leaker, and what the Biden-Harris administration can do to repair relations with Israel. She also talks about Israel’s strategy in attacking the financial assets of a second terrorist group, Hezbollah, just north of the Jewish state in Lebanon.
The FBI and Defense Intelligence Agency are reported to be Investigating the Office of Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations, Christopher Maier as the Source for the recent Leak of Highly-Classified Top Secret Documents related to Israeli Preparations for a Strike… pic.twitter.com/09X3J10o46
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) October 22, 2024
Over the weekend an obscure Telegram account leaked two apparently highly-classified US intelligence documents related to Israel's attack plans for Iran.
— Ron Paul (@RonPaul) October 21, 2024
Was it a genuine leak? Was it meant to obfuscate? Who benefits? It's a hall of mirrors.
Also today: reports that Israeli… pic.twitter.com/pRTULg16rG