The United States is investigating the leak of a pair of highly classified intelligence documents describing Israel’s preparations for a retaliatory strike on Iran, House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Sunday.
“The leak is very concerning,” said Johnson who is a Republican from Louisiana.
The documents appear to have been prepared by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, describing US interpretations of Israeli Air Force and Navy planning based on satellite imagery from October 15-16.
They began circulating last week on the Telegram messaging app. Israel has been planning a response to a ballistic missile barrage carried out by Iran on October 1, its second direct attack on Israel in six months. Israel has intensified its offensive in Gaza and Lebanon, days after the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
Asked about the leak of the documents during an interview with CNN, Johnson, the US House of Representatives’ top lawmaker, said an “investigation (is) underway and I’ll get a briefing on that in a couple of hours.
”We are following it closely,” said Johnson.
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Pentagon said it was looking into the leak reports.
The New York Times reported that officials acknowledged privately that the documents were authentic, but that they likely only represent a portion of information the US has on its close ally’s planning.
The first document is titled: “Israel: Air Force Continues Preparations for Strike on Iran and Conducts a Second Large-Force Employment Exercise.” It describes activities, including ballistic and air-to-surface missile handling.
The second is titled: “Israel: Defense Forces Continue Key Munitions Preparations and Covert UAV Activity Almost Certainly for a Strike on Iran.” UAVs are also known as drones.
US President Joe Biden, responding to questions from reporters, said last week he had a good understanding of when and how Israel would attack Iran. But he also said he sees an opportunity to end the two enemies’ back-and-forth strikes.
Maximum pressure campaign against Iran
Johnson told CNN that now “is the time for a maximum pressure campaign against Iran.”
He recalled that he had spoken with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday night, “to encourage him, he has done an extraordinary job prosecuting that war.
“If he had taken [US President] Joe Biden’s advice, they would be in a much weaker position right now,” he said.
“The United States needs to stand unequivocally by our ally there right now. We’re on a precipice… of a new era of security and freedom for Israel.
“We’re very close – I hope, I pray – to ending that conflict there. But we cannot equivocate. We can’t appease Iran. Now is the time for a maximum pressure campaign against the head of the snake. It’s not Hezbollah and Hamas and the proxies that are ultimately the threat. It is Iran itself. And I think we need to recognize that reality right now,” Johnson stated.
“We need to stand by Israel. This is a good versus evil conflict,” said Johnson, explaining that there was no comparison between Israel and Iran.
“Israel is a state. It is the most stable democracy in the Middle East, and Iran is a terrorist regime and it works through terrorist organizations to do great harm to our allies, and ultimately, what they hope to do is to us, and that’s a real threat to us right now as well,” Johnson said.