Shin Bet chief reportedly seeks okay to question Channel 12 journalists over Iran leak

Zini believes interrogating journalists will help identify leaker, according to Haaretz report, as thousands of people knew of plans for Feb. 28 Israel-US strikes on Iran

Shin Bet chief David Zini has reportedly asked Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara to authorize the security agency to summon journalists for questioning as part of its investigation into an alleged leak to Channel 12 over the timing of this year’s opening strikes in the US-Israel war with Iran.

According to a report on Friday in Haaretz, Zini believes that questioning journalists could help investigators identify the leaker, given that thousands were privy to the operational plans ahead of the initial joint US-Israel strikes on February 28.

“When there are 4,500 people who share the secret and there is no indication whatsoever that any of them leaked anything, the only way is to take testimony from the journalists and perhaps in that way understand what happened,” a security source told Haaretz.

The report comes after Hebrew media reported last week that Zini had sought the attorney general’s approval to investigate suspicions that Channel 12 was tipped off ahead of the US-Israeli strikes that launched the war with Iran. According to reports, Zini had previously discouraged investigating the leak.

On Saturday, Channel 12 reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had instructed Zini to investigate the alleged leak despite the Shin Bet chief’s reservations. The report came days after the Shin Bet denied claims of government pressure to open the probe, after pro-government Channel 14 commentator and Netanyahu ally Jacob Bardugo said he had met with Zini to urge him to investigate Channel 12.

Opposition leaders have criticized the Bardugo-Zini meeting and have urged Baharav-Miara to investigate it.

According to Bardugo, Channel 12 presenter Yonit Levy and the outlet’s commentators were already “in full makeup” minutes after the opening strikes were carried out on the morning of Saturday, February 28.

There have been multiple instances in which figures from the pro-government Channel 14 network appeared to similarly have advance knowledge of sensitive military operations.

Bardugo himself publicly hinted at an imminent military operation days before Israel’s 12-day campaign against Iran last year, prompting criticism from security officials who argued his comments could have compromised operational security.

“The strike is just moments away,” Bardugo said in a live broadcast two days before the operation began.

Earlier this month, a lobbying group made up of IDF reservists called for a criminal investigation into Channel 14, accusing it of repeatedly publishing classified material that violated censorship rules, compromising operations and endangering security forces.