Who leaked intelligence on Israel's escalation plan?

The recent leak of top-secret US intelligence documents online has sparked questions about whether one of the Five Eyes (FVEY) intelligence alliance members might have been involved in a deliberate attempt to derail Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's military plans.

- SAVIO RODRIGUES

The leaked documents, attributed to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, indicate that Israel is actively positioning military assets for a possible strike in response to Iran's October 1 ballistic missile attack. Given that these documents were shareable within the Five Eyes network-comprising the US, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand-speculation is growing that one of these allies could be responsible for leaking the information to prevent further escalation.

The documents, dated October 15 and October 16, marked top secret, first surfaced last Friday (October 18) on the Telegram account called "Middle East Spectator” and rapidly spread across channels popular among Iranians. The first document, titled "Israel: Air Force continues preparations for strike on Iran and conducts a second large-force employment exercise," outlines Israel's air force readiness and ongoing military exercises. The second, "Israel: Defense Forces continue key munitions preparations and covert UAV activity almost certainly for a strike on Iran," details the preparations underway, pointing to an imminent military operation.