Pentagon denies employee of Iranian origin leaked Israel's strike intel
Last week, two US intelligence documents reportedly disclosing Israel's plan for a potential retaliatory attack on Iran were leaked.
The Pentagon denied that Ariane Tabatabai, Chief of Staff of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations, is a subject of interest in the investigation for the alleged leak of classified documents pertaining to Israel's plans for a retaliatory attack against Iran.
"To my knowledge, this official is not a subject of interest," said Press Secretary of the Air Force, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters on Tuesday afternoon.
Earlier Tuesday, Sky News Arabia cited a senior Pentagon official who reportedly named Tabatabai as the main suspect in the FBI's investigation into the leaks.
According to Sky News, Tabatabai came under fire in 2023 after members of Congress wrote to Defense Secretary Austin asking for Tabatabai to be removed from her position due to security concerns over her alleged communication with the IRGC.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has spoken with his Israeli counterpart Defense Minister Yoav Gallant regarding the leaks, Ryder said.
"The FBI is investigating the alleged leak of classified documents and working closely with the Department of Defense and the intelligence community on this," Ryder said Tuesday.
"Anytime there's an allegation of potential unauthorized disclosures, the Pentagon is going to take it seriously," he said.
The FBI is leading the investigation, limiting what Ryder was able to say from the Pentagon's podium. He declined to answer why the Pentagon is not conducting its own investigation into how the documents leaked.
Last week, two US intelligence documents reportedly disclosing Israel's plan for a potential retaliatory attack on Iran were leaked and disseminated on a Telegram channel.
The channel claimed it had received the documents via a source within the US intelligence community.
US investigating incident
Following the leak, the US said it was investigating the incident, which House Speaker Mike Johnson characterized as "very concerning."
Israel said it would respond to Iran's October 1 attack, which saw the Islamic Republic launch some 180 ballistic missiles at Israel.
Tovah Lazaroff, Walla, Reuters, and Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.
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