US investigates intelligence leak on Israel's plans to attack Iran

The US government is investigating an unauthorised release of classified documents that assess Israel's plans to attack Iran.

- Richard Luscombe, Dan Sabbagh

The US House speaker, Mike Johnson, confirmed the investigation in remarks to CNN's State of the Union programme yesterday, saying: "The leak is very concerning."

"There's some serious allegations being made there," the Republican from Louisiana said. “The investigation's under way, and I'll get a briefing on that in a couple of hours.”

A US official told the Associated Press that the documents in question appeared to be legitimate, although the Guardian could not immediately verify their authenticity.

The documents are attributed to the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency, and are written in a style similar to documents previously leaked from the Pentagon, using classifications familiar to the national security community.

The first document is called Israel: Air Force Continues Preparations for Strike on Iran and Conducts a Second Large-Force Employment Exercise, while the second is: Israel: Defense Forces Continue Key Munitions Preparations and Covert UAV Activity Almost Certainly for a Strike on Iran. Both are dated to last Wednesday and first leaked a day later.