Posted on by

The Pentagon is investigating whether leaked Israeli plans for an Iran attack came from hackers or insiders

The Pentagon is investigating whether leaked Israeli plans for an Iran attack came from hackers or insiders

WASHINGTON – As the Defense Department works to find out who leaked Israeli attack plans against Iran over the weekend, the White House said Monday it is confident there will be no further surprise document dumps.

“We have no indication at this point that we expect additional documents like this to find their way into the public,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters, adding that the Harris-Biden administration I cannot yet say how the secret documents became public.

“I know the Department of Defense is investigating this,” Kirby added, “and I’m sure as they work through it they will try to figure out how it came to light.”

White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby speaks to reporters in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on September 18, 2024 in Washington, DC. Getty Images

President Biden is “actively monitoring” the investigation, Kirby added, and “remains deeply concerned about the release of confidential information to the public.”

“This cannot be allowed to happen,” said the NSC flicker, “and it is unacceptable if it does.”

The papers were posted on Telegram over the weekend by the account @Middle_East_Spectator, which said in a statement it was unaware of “any other leaked secret US documents” and had “no connection to the original source, which we believe to be one Whistleblower acts.” the US Department [sic] Defense.”

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei shows it during a meeting of top Iranian talents in science on October 2, 2024 in Tehran. KHAMENEI.IR/AFP via Getty Images
President Joe Biden speaks to the media during a joint press statement with Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the Chancellery in Berlin on October 18, 2024. AP

Military analysts such as Atlantic Council senior fellow Alex Plitsas said the information gave the Jewish state’s enemies important insight into Israel’s military capabilities.

“The leak this weekend of the U.S. assessment of Israel’s readiness to carry out the attack was damaging because it indicated the status of readiness, but also what was not yet ready, and would allow an adversary to expand its intelligence collection to concentrate these elements,” Plitsas X posted on Monday. “Dangerous and unhelpful.”

U.S.-Israel relations have come under strain since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack that killed an estimated 1,200 people in southern Israel.

Jack Teixeira, an Air National Guardsman who leaked classified documents in 2023.

The Israel revelation comes 18 months after the Pentagon lost face after then-Air Force National Guardsman Jack Teixeira leaked Ukrainian war plans related to Kiev’s counteroffensive against the invading Russians.

This leak sparked similar distrust and tensions between Washington and Kyiv.

Teixeira, who was 22 at the time of his arrest, was sentenced to 16 years in prison last March after admitting six counts of intentionally storing and disclosing national defense information.