Israel has delayed its retaliatory strike against Iran because of a leak last week of potentially sensitive military information from the US.
The leak revealed Israel’s well-advanced plans to respond to a salvo of nearly 200 Iranian ballistic missiles fired against it earlier this month, which was a retaliation by Tehran for Israel’s attacks on its Middle Eastern proxy groups.
The top-secret document was published on a pro-Iranian Telegram channel last Friday and appeared to be a US assessment of Israel’s likely response, based on satellite imagery and other intelligence.
It made reference to Golden Horizon and Rocks, two Israeli air-launched ballistic missiles.
Israel is concerned the leak could help Iran predict certain patterns of attack. It has been forced to develop an alternative plan, one that requires detailed war gaming before any order is given, The Times understands.
“The leak of the American documents delayed the attack due to the need to change certain strategies and components,” an intelligence source with knowledge of Israeli deliberations said. “There will be a retaliation, but it has taken longer than it was supposed to take.”
Hellbound and Down 