US government officials have reassured the public that no additional classified documents have been leaked following the recent publication of two intelligence papers discussing Israel’s military plans regarding Iran. During a press briefing at the White House, John Kirby, the national security communications adviser, expressed the Biden administration’s deep concern over the unauthorized release.
“We are deeply troubled, and the President shares this concern, about any leakage of classified information into the public domain. Such occurrences are not acceptable,” Kirby stated. He emphasized that the President would closely monitor the investigation to uncover how these documents were leaked and to consider any preventative measures recommended as a result.
Earlier in the day, a defense department official confirmed to The Guardian that a thorough investigation was underway to determine how the two documents, attributed to the US Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, were made public on the messaging platform Telegram just four days prior. These documents detail Israel’s military strategies in response to an unprecedented missile attack from Iran on October 1, which marked a significant escalation in the ongoing Middle East conflict triggered by Hamas’s attacks on Israel in October 2023.
One document is titled “Israel: air force continues preparations for strike on Iran and conducts a second large-force employment exercise,” while the other relates to “Israel: defense forces continue key munitions preparations and covert UAV activity almost certainly for a strike on Iran.”
While it remains unclear whether the leak was intentional or the result of a cyber breach, Kirby reassured the public, stating, “We currently have no indication that we should expect additional documents to surface in the public domain.”
His remarks followed those of Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, who described the leak as “very concerning” and indicated he was awaiting a briefing on the investigation’s progress.
Amid this ongoing inquiry, Secretary of State Antony Blinken is traveling to the Middle East for the 11th time since the outbreak of violence. He will address the leak during his visit and seek to reignite ceasefire negotiations that have stalled since Israel’s recent actions against Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. However, Kirby tempered expectations about the chances of success for these discussions. “I can’t sit here today and promise that negotiations are about to resume in Doha, Cairo, or anywhere else,” he noted. “We will continue our efforts in intensive diplomacy to find a potential path to a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.”
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