Israeli F-35s<\/p>\n
Israel has been forced to delay a potential retaliatory attack on Iran after details of the planning were leaked from the US, Britain\u2019s The Times newspaper reported<\/a> Thursday.<\/p>\n According to the report, citing an unnamed intelligence source with knowledge of Israeli deliberations, Israel is worried that even though no potential targets were named in the leak, the details provided could help Iran predict certain patterns of attack.<\/p>\n The Times said Israel has developed an alternative plan but needs to war-game it before proceeding.<\/p>\n \u201cThe leak of the American documents delayed the attack due to the need to change certain strategies and components,\u201d the source said. \u201cThere will be a retaliation, but it has taken longer than it was supposed to take.\u201d<\/p>\n Marked top secret, the documents first appeared online Friday on the Telegram messaging app and quickly spread among Telegram channels popular with Iranians.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, the FBI said that it was investigating the unauthorized release of the classified documents<\/a> on Israel\u2019s latest preparations for a potential retaliatory attack. Speaking to reporters in Rome, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said there were no indications any employees from the Office of the Secretary of Defense were being probed for the leak.<\/p>\n The Islamic Republic has been bracing for an Israeli reprisal after its latest direct attack on Israel, in which it fired 200 ballistic missiles that sent most of Israel to bomb shelters on October 1, killed a Palestinian man in the West Bank, and caused damage in residential areas and at military bases. The IDF said there was no operational impact from the attack.<\/p>\n Iran said the missile assault came in response to strikes in Lebanon that killed the top leadership of the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group and a July blast in Tehran that killed Hamas politburo head, Ismail Haniyeh. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the killing of the latter.<\/p>\n Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Wednesday told<\/a> pilots and air crews that \u201cafter we strike in Iran, everyone will understand what you did in the preparation and training process.\u201d<\/p>\n Visiting the Hatzerim air force base, Gallant said, \u201cEveryone who dreamed a year ago of beating us and attacking us paid a heavy price and are no longer in that dream.\u201d<\/p>\n Israel has held<\/a> several major<\/a> drills simulating<\/a> long-range strikes on Iran over the years in preparation for a possible confrontation with Tehran.<\/p>\n Netanyahu told<\/a> US President Joe Biden earlier this month that Israel\u2019s retaliation will not include strikes on non-military sites.<\/p>\n Israel had previously been thought to be mulling attacks on Iranian oil infrastructure or nuclear sites, both opposed by the US for their potential to escalate fighting, including Iranian reprisals aimed at civilian infrastructure in Israel or other regional states aligned with the West.<\/p>\n However, Israel has signaled that its expected retaliation for the missile barrage could be widened as a result of a Hezbollah drone attack on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s private home in Caesarea<\/a> on Saturday, which the premier has referred to as an attempted assassination by \u201cagents of Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n