Alleged plans for a possible Israeli attack on Iran have been leaked online as part of an alleged US intelligence blunder.
A pair of supposedly “top secret” documents claim that the IDF has been moving missiles and organizing training exercises for aircraft, including air-to-air combat and search and rescue operations.
While the documents have yet to be verified, US officials have not denied their authenticity after they circulated on social media, with one calling the leak “deeply concerning.”
It comes amid claims that the IDF is preparing for a fierce retaliatory attack in response to rising military tensions, but the alleged documents claim there is no indication that nuclear weapons are being mobilized.
The news comes just hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the target of an alleged drone assassination attempt.
Last September, Iran launched nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel in response to the operation against the militant group Hezbollah and the assassination of Hamas leaders.
Israel’s fury deepened yesterday when Tehran carried out an alleged assassination attempt with a drone carrying explosives towards Netanyahu’s family home.
Last night, Israel accused Tehran of an assassination attempt after a drone carrying explosives was launched into Benjamin Netanyahu’s family home, photographed in a defiant video telling viewers: “I’m proud of you.”
Aftermath of the missile fired from Lebanon towards Haifa on Saturday
Black smoke rises over the southern suburb of Beirut. Israel carried out attacks on Hezbollah’s main stronghold and the southern city of Nabtaiyeh, where it dominates, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected calls for a ceasefire.
The leak of the report came on Friday when Middle East channel Telegram Spectator claimed it had received documents about Israel’s attack preparations from a source within the US intelligence community.
These documents are marked top secret and have markings indicating that they are to be seen only by the United States and its ‘Five Eyes’ allies: Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
The documents included an alleged report from the US Department of Defense’s visual intelligence agency, which circulated among the US intelligence community three days earlier.
The report details alleged recent actions at Israeli Air Force (IAF) bases, including the movement of advanced munitions believed to have been intended for an attack against Iran.
He also noted that intelligence obtained indicated that the IAF conducted an exercise this week with fighter jets and drones as part of its attack preparations.
“If it is true that Israeli tactical plans for responding to Iran’s attack on October 1 have been leaked, this is a serious breach,” said Mick Mulroy, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East and retired CIA officer.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei raised a rallying cry yesterday following the death of Yahya Sinwar, vowing: “Hamas is alive and will remain alive.”
President Joe Biden meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., on July 25, 2024.
Civil defense teams and Palestinian residents put out the fire and carry out search and rescue work at the Al-Salhi family home after the Israeli attacks on the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza City, Gaza, on October 15, 2024.
Mulroy added that ‘future coordination between the United States and Israel could also be called into question. Trust is a key component in the relationship and depending on how it was leaked, trust could be eroded.”
One of the documents also suggests that Israel has nuclear weapons, something the state has never publicly confirmed. He adds that the United States has seen no indication that Israel plans to use a nuclear weapon against Iran.
The leak is “deeply concerning,” a US official told CNN.
Neither the Israeli Prime Minister nor his wife Sara were on the property in the coastal city of Caesarea, between Tel Aviv and Haifa, when the device was launched from Lebanon as part of the assassination attempt early yesterday.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at UN Headquarters in New York, US, on September 27, 2024.
It is believed to have hit a building near Netanyahu’s large white brick residence.
The alleged attempt marked a period of intense tensions in the region, with Israeli officials condemning Iran and Hezbollah, which Iran backs, for the attempt on Netanyahu’s life.
Israel continued bombing the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza last night, while Lebanese state media reported fresh attacks on a Hezbollah stronghold near Beirut, after the Israel Defense Forces ordered residents to leave the capital city. .
It came two days after Israel killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the architect of last year’s Oct. 7 massacre that left 1,200 dead and sparked escalating violence between Israel and Hamas.
Last night, Netanyahu said: ‘The agents of Iran who tried to assassinate me and my wife today made a bitter mistake.
‘This will not deter me or the State of Israel from continuing the war against our enemies to take away our security for generations.
“I say to the Iranians and their partners in the axis of evil: anyone who harms the State of Israel will pay a high price for it.”
The war against enemies has left more than 40,000 people dead in Gaza and tens of thousands injured.