Biden ‘deeply concerned’ by leaked documents on Israel’s Iran attack plan

President Joe Biden is “deeply concerned” following the unauthorized release of classified documents detailing Israel’s potential plans for retaliation against Iran, according to a White House spokesperson.

On Saturday, Axios reported that two alleged US intelligence documents containing details of Israeli preparations to retaliate against Iran had appeared on a Tehran-affiliated channel on the messaging app Telegram. The channel’s administrators said in a statement on Sunday that it was not linked to Iran but run by a “tight-knit team of completely independent journalists.”

The documents were marked “top secret” and dated October 15-16. The documents purported to show “key munitions preparations and covert drone (unmanned aerial vehicle) activities” and were described as being linked to a possible Israeli attack on Iran.

The unauthorized disclosure of the classified documents prompted a formal investigation by the U.S. government, officials said Saturday.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby stressed the seriousness of the situation during a press briefing, saying it was still unclear whether the information was leaked or obtained by piracy. He added that officials have no indication at this point that “additional documents like this would end up in the public domain.”

“We are deeply concerned, and the president remains deeply concerned, about any leak of classified information into the public domain. This is not supposed to happen, and it is unacceptable when it does,” Kirby said, adding that the Pentagon was interested in the matter.

Documents posted on Telegram are attributed to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency. The information may have been shared between members of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, made up of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The documents describe Israel’s strategic military movements in preparation for a strike that would be a response to Iran’s October 1 ballistic missile attack.

During this assault, Tehran launched its largest missile attack against Israel, which appears to have been largely blunted by Israeli defenses, with help from the United States and its allies.

The Israeli military said Iran launched around 180 missiles toward Israel, and footage broadcast on Israeli television appeared to show some of those weapons flying over the Tel Aviv area shortly before 7:45 p.m. local time on October 1. A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gave the order for the attack.

After the October 1 attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran had “made a grave mistake tonight and will pay the price”, sparking growing concern about a regional conflagration.

Rosemary Kelanic, Defense Priorities Middle East director, previously said the analyst News week It marked a “dangerous escalation” in the months-long conflict between Israel and Iran-backed militias Hezbollah and Hamas.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon continues to investigate the recent breach of classified documents, which has renewed concerns about the vulnerability of sensitive government data.

This article includes reporting from the Associated Press.