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US documents allegedly leak Israel’s plans to attack Iran, Pentagon denies – Israel News

US documents allegedly leak Israel’s plans to attack Iran, Pentagon denies – Israel News

The Pentagon denied that Ariane Tabatabai, chief of staff to the deputy defense secretary for special operations, was under investigation for allegedly leaking classified documents related to Israel’s plans for a retaliatory strike against Iran.

“To my knowledge, this official is not a subject of interest,” Air Force press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters Tuesday afternoon.

Early Tuesday, Sky News Arabia quoted a senior Pentagon official as reportedly naming Tabatabai as a prime suspect in the FBI’s investigation into the leaks.

According to Sky News, Tabatabai came under fire in 2023 after members of Congress wrote to Defense Secretary Austin asking that Tabatabai be removed from her position over security concerns regarding her alleged communications with the IRGC.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin discussed the leaks with his Israeli counterpart, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Ryder said.

“The FBI is investigating the alleged loss of classified documents and is working closely with the Department of Defense and the intelligence community on this matter,” Ryder said Tuesday.

“Any time there is an allegation of possible unauthorized disclosures, the Pentagon will take it seriously,” he said.

The FBI is leading the investigation and limiting what Ryder could say from the Pentagon podium. He declined to answer why the Pentagon is not conducting its own investigation into how the documents were leaked.

Last week, two US intelligence documents that reportedly revealed Israel’s plan for a possible retaliatory attack on Iran were leaked and shared on a Telegram channel.

The broadcaster claimed it obtained the documents through a source within the US intelligence community.

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US is investigating incident

Following the revelation, the US said it was investigating the incident, which House Speaker Mike Johnson called “very concerning”.

Israel said it would respond to the Oct. 1 Iranian attack in which the Islamic Republic fired about 180 ballistic missiles at Israel.

Tovah Lazaroff, Walla, Reuters and Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.