On Oct. 19, two top secret documents were leaked to the public. The documents stated that Israel was planning to attack Iran and was moving its weapons to prepare. Officials from the Pentagon have confirmed the leak and are investigating the cause.
CNN states these documents were dated Oct. 15 and 16 and were labeled “Top Secret” with markings that indicated they were only to be seen by the US and its “Five Eyes” allies: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The leaked information was gathered by US officials and discussed both Israel and its plans of a military strike on Iran.
The plans for this strike come after Iran launched about 180 missiles toward Israel on Tuesday, Oct. 1. According to CBS, with cooperation from the US, most were intercepted before hitting the ground. At least one person was killed and several more were injured. These missiles were different from most because they were sent out over the whole country instead of just a singular city or target. Israel commented saying that Iran “will pay” for the barrage. According to Business Standard, the attack came after Israeli ground troops entered Lebanon late at night on Monday, Sept. 30.
CNN reported that these documents clearly state that Israel does not intend to use nuclear missiles. However, this sparked some interest because Israel has never confirmed or denied their possession of nuclear weapons. Some are worried about why Israel chose to withhold the information.
US officials are not certain if the leak was caused by hackers or an internal source, however, they are taking this leak very seriously due to a previous leak. According to NBC, in March 2024, 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guard member, Jeck Teixeira, pleaded guilty to leaking several classified documents on social media platform Discord. Since this incident, US officials have been on edge about classified information. Although the documents that were leaked on Oct. 1 are as serious as others, officials are worried others could have been leaked or taken.
All of this comes during the war in Palestine where Israel is fighting Hamas, a Palestinian militant group that Iran openly supports. The tension between these two countries only seems to be growing. Although the US does not participate in the warfare, it does support Israel and provides help against Hamas. The US has many documents like the two leaked.
US officials are working hard to figure out the cause of this leak and prevent any future leaks from happening. However, with tensions rising between Israel and Iran, many doubt this will be the last conflict between the two countries, though many hope this war comes to a close soon.
