US court documents confirm Israeli airstrike on Iran was delayed due to Pentagon leak

The Iranian regime launched a largely unsuccessful attack on Israel on Oct. 1, despite using around 180 ballistic missiles.

While Israel quickly vowed to respond with force, the Israeli aerial strike was delayed due to a Pentagon leak, U.S. court documents confirm.

The controversy concerns Asif William Rahman (34) a former CIA employee who reportedly leaked highly classified intelligence about Israel's airstrike on Iran.

While Rahman’s motives are officially unclear, they forced the Israel Defense Forces to postpone its “kinetic action” against the ayatollah regime in Tehran, according to lead prosecutor Troy Edwards.

The Israeli decision to delay its aerial strike was reportedly due to concerns that the unexpected U.S. intelligence leak had compromised its plans.

While the evidence against Rahman is reportedly incriminating, a U.S. federal judge ordered the release of the suspect who is currently being detained at home under electronic monitoring. Prosecutors who protested the decision to release Rahman argued that the suspect still has “memory and perception” of sensitive intelligence that still makes him a security threat. 

In late October, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson confirmed that U.S. authorities were probing into a “very disturbing” intelligence leak concerning Israel’s strike plan on Iran.

At the time, Mick Mulroy, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, and a retired CIA officer, wrote about his concerns in a CNN article. 

“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 stated. 

Rahman was arrested in November for leaking top-secret intel on the Israeli strike. 

Javed Ali, a professor at the University of Michigan with senior intelligence experience, expressed concerns about the CIA intel leak. 

“This is not a good news story for the CIA,” Ali assessed. “Who is this person? How long had he been in the position? Was he an analyst? A case officer? What motivated him to leak the information that he had access to? Was he involved in Iran-related intelligence operations?”

Although the Israeli aerial strike was postponed, it was nevertheless declared successful when it did take place. 

On Oct. 26, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) launched “Days of Repentance,” the largest aerial strike on Iran since the war between Iran and Iraq in the 1980s. Hundreds of IAF planes including fighter jets reportedly targeted approximately 20 key Iranian aerial defense and missile production facilities outside Tehran and in other locations. 

While Israel and Iran have been engaged in a shadow proxy war for decades, it was reportedly the first time that the Jewish state had conducted a large military strike against the regime.

At the time, IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Daniel Hagari confirmed the historic Israeli aerial operation against Iran. 

“A short while ago, our planes returned safely after striking military targets in Iran… The retaliatory strike has been completed, and its objectives have been achieved,” Hagari announced. 

“Following the directive of the political echelon, we carried out precise and targeted strikes on targets in different areas in Iran,” he added.