Biden 'deeply concerned' by leak of classified Israel attack documents

WASHINGTON

US President Joe Biden is "deeply concerned" by the leak of classified documents detailing Israel's preparations for its avowed retaliatory strike on Iran, the White House said Monday.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the Biden administration has yet to determine whether the documents entered the public domain via a leak, or a hack, but said the Pentagon is conducting an investigation into the matter that the president is "actively monitoring."

"We'll let the investigation pursue its logical course there," he told reporters during a virtual briefing.

"The President remains deeply concerned about any leakage of classified information into the public domain. That is not supposed to happen, and it's unacceptable when it does. So he's deeply concerned about that, and you can rest assured that he will be actively monitoring the progress of the investigative effort to figure out how this happened," he added.

The documents, dated Oct. 15 and 16, began circulating Friday after being shared on Telegram by Middle East Spectator. The leaks reportedly came from a source within the US intelligence community.

One of the documents, reportedly compiled by the Defense Department's National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, indicates that Israel’s plans involve relocating munitions.

"The Israeli Air Force continued air-launched ballistic missile (ALBM) handling, cover UAV operations, and conducted a second large-force employment (LFE) exercise from 15 through October 2024, according to imagery analysis," said the document.

It noted that since Oct. 8, the Israeli Air Force has handled at least 16 Golden Horizon ALBMs and more than 40 IS02 (Rocks) ALBMs. The document said that ALBM handling continued at Hatzerim Airfield as of Oct. 16.

Another document said it is sourced to the National Security Agency and outlines Israeli air force exercises involving air-to-surface missiles, also believed to be in preparation for a strike on Iran.

Asked by reporters on Friday if he has a "good understanding" of what Israel's response to Iran's Oct. 1 ballistic missile attack would entail, and when it would occur, Biden said succinctly: "Yes and yes."

Iran said it carried out the October attack in retaliation for the assassinations of Hamas' former political leader in Tehran in July and the killing of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut last month

Nearly 200 missiles were fired in the salvo, which struck several locations in Israel, including a military facility, but resulted in no fatalities.

The exchanges of fire between Tel Aviv and Tehran have escalated this year after Israel bombed Iran's Embassy in Syria on April 1, killing senior military officials. Iran responded to that attack two weeks later by launching hundreds of drones and ballistic missiles at Israel.

Nearly all were intercepted by Israel, the US and its allies.