US House Speaker Mike Johnson confirms government probe into ‘very concerning’ intel leak of Israeli preparations for strike on Iran

U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (Rep.) on Sunday confirmed that the government is investigating the leak of “Top Secret” classified Pentagon documents relating to Israeli preparations for a retaliatory strike on Iran. 

The leaked documents were shared on the Telegram channel of "Middle East Spectator," which is affiliated with the Iranian regime. 

Speaking to CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday, Johnson called the leaks “very concerning.” 

He noted that he was about to participate in a classified briefing regarding the leaks, and condemned the pressure that the Biden administration has put on the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

“I talked to my friend Bibi, Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday, to encourage him,” Johnson stated. “He's done an extraordinary job, I think, prosecuting that war, and if he had taken Joe Biden's advice, they'd be in a much weaker position right now.” 

He also accused the “Biden-Harris policies” of empowering Iran, which ultimately led to the Oct. 7 Hamas massacres. 

Washington is still investigating the leak of the Pentagon documents, which caused great embarrassment for the U.S. government. The findings from the investigation have not yet been made public. 

A CNN article regarding the leak quoted Mick Mulroy, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, and a retired CIA officer.

“If it was true that Israeli tactical plans to respond to Iran’s attack on October 1 were leaked, it was a serious breach,” Mulroy said. 

Mulroy said the leak may have negative consequences for U.S.-Israeli relations. 

“The future coordination between the US and Israel could have been challenged as well. Trust is a key component in the relationship, and depending on how this was leaked, that trust could have eroded.”

This sentiment was echoed by a former senior Israeli intelligence official who claimed that the leak has led to increased tensions between the two countries. 

“Leaks don’t just happen,” the former Israeli intelligence official told CNN. “And someone has broken U.S. law by revealing these secrets.” 

While the leaked documents were given to an Iran-linked Telegram account, some officials do not believe they were leaked by an Iranian spy, as the risk of being exposed outweighs the importance of the material in the documents. 

While the U.S. investigation appears to focus on a possible disgruntled U.S. official, some Israeli analysts see a more troubling possibility – that the leak was a deliberate attempt by the Biden administration to constrain Israel’s options. 

An article in Free Beacon appears to support this possibility. It quotes a senior Biden-Harris administration official who was not authorized to speak on record about the situation. 

Calling the leaks, “deadly serious,” the official claimed, “For at least the past year there has been a concerted campaign to leak what at least seems to be classified information by anti-Israel elements in large part to impact media narratives – but, if true, this obviously goes beyond that.”  

Regardless of the source, the leak will probably lead to further friction between the U.S. and Israeli governments. 

“It strains the relationship between the US and Israel, and makes it look like the current US administration cannot keep its own secrets,” the former Israeli official told CNN. “We have to ask who that benefits.”