James Lynch: ‘Very Concerning’: Mike Johnson Reacts to Leak of U.S. Intel on Israel’s Plans to Strike Iran
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) is alarmed about the leak of highly classified U.S. intelligence documents on Israel’s plans to strike against Iran.
“The leak is very concerning. There’s some serious allegations being made there, an investigation underway, and I’ll get a briefing on that in a couple of hours,” Johnson said Sunday during an interview on CNN’s State of the Union.
Johnson is currently undertaking a swing-state tour to help Republicans fight to preserve the party’s extremely narrow House majority. He will receive a classified briefing on the intelligence leak Sunday and spoke with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“I talked to my friend Bibi Prime Minister Netanyahu, yesterday to encourage him,” Johnson said, while reaffirming U.S. support for Israel’s multi-front war in the Middle East.
“If he had taken Joe Biden’s advice, I think they’d be in a much weaker position right now. I think the United States needs to stand unequivocally with our ally there right now,” Johnson added. He called for a “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran and criticized the Biden administration for trying to micromanage Israel’s military strategy.
The leaked U.S. intelligence documents started circulating online Friday when a pro-Iran account posted them on Telegram and claimed to have received them from a source inside the intel community, according to multiple reports. The top-secret documents were only meant to be seen by “Five Eyes” U.S. allies: Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
One of the documents appears to be an intelligence report created by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and contains details on munitions transfers. Another document appears to be attributed to the National Security Agency and shows Israeli air force exercises.
The investigation into the leak will seek to determine the source of the leak and whether additional intelligence was compromised, the Associated Press reported.
The intelligence leak took place soon after Israel killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the October 7, 2023 massacre that killed over 1,200 Israeli civilians and sparked the ongoing Gaza war between Israel and Hamas. Sinwar’s death happened during an Israeli operation in Rafah, a southern Gazan city considered to be a significant Hamas outpost.
Top Biden administration officials, including Vice President Kamala Harris, repeatedly criticized Israel’s planned offensive in Rafah and urged Israel to reconsider its plans. In the wake of Sinwar’s death, President Biden called for a “cease-fire” to end the Gaza conflict and release the hostages Hamas continues holding in captivity.
Israel is expected to retaliate against Iran for the barrage of ballistic missiles Iran fired at Israel earlier this month after Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and is believed to have killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
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