The FBI announced on Tuesday it was opening an investigation into the unauthorized public release of two highly classified intelligence documents detailing Israel’s military preparations to attack Iran. Two papers, which are replete with sensitive details about Israeli Air Force and Navy operations, were released on the Telegram messaging app last week. Based on satellite imagery from mid-October, the documents appear to have been prepared by the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

“The FBI is investigating the possible unauthorized disclosure of classified information and is coordinating with the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community,” the FBI said.

Source of the Leak: Hack or Insider?

The U.S. government has severe concerns about how such critical information ended up in the public domain. Speaking Monday, White House spokesperson John Kirby pointed out that it hadn’t been established whether the leak was a cyberattack or a breach from within. The president reportedly is following this investigation closely, President Joe Biden.

Some of these releases indicate that the U.S. has reviewed Israel’s military strategies, and reactions to Iran’s recent ballistic missile launch on October 1, the second within half a year. After the assassination of Yahya Sinwar from Hamas, the Israeli defense has intensified operations in both the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

The Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, acknowledged on Sunday that the issue was under investigation. Johnson said that the leakage of ultra-classified military plans had damaged the relationship between Israel and Iran. At the same time,  there are serious concerns about how top-secret information has been leaked.

While the probe goes on, leakage represents greater regional insecurity. The present conflict between Israel and Hamas and between Israel and Hezbollah has already taken the military operations of Israel to a hotter level. The disclosure of such specific signals extends even further the already blurred diplomacy, and one is at the highest level of amping up. Even to this point, it is still unclear who the source of the leak is and how the US government is responding to the urgent situation.

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