Senior US military staff subjected to polygraphs over Iran war leaks

The Trump administration has subjected around 50 military officers and civilian employees serving on the US Joint Staff to polygraph tests as part of an extraordinary effort to identify leaks to the press about the US-Israeli war on Iran, according to The New York Times.

Investigators questioned personnel in August over whether they had disclosed classified information to journalists, including information on dwindling US stocks of key munitions, the newspaper reported.

The Joint Staff — a Pentagon body of roughly 1,500 to 2,000 civilian and military personnel that supports the Joint Chiefs of Staff — is made up of senior officers who advise the president, defence secretary and National Security Council on military affairs.

The inquiry followed a succession of media reports warning that the months-long war has depleted US supplies of sophisticated weapons, including long-range missiles and Patriot air-defence interceptors used to counter Iranian ballistic-missile attacks.

Those reports have raised wider questions about Washington’s ability to sustain military operations in the Middle East while preserving its readiness for potential crises elsewhere. The conflict has also exposed the vulnerability of US troops, bases and allied infrastructure across the region to Iranian missile fire.

People familiar with the investigation told the NYT that the polygraph sweep appeared intended not only to identify officials who may have provided information to reporters, but also to deter other military personnel from speaking to the media.

The scale of the operation is highly unusual. Legal and military experts cited by US media said mass lie-detector testing has not previously been used so broadly, or at such senior levels, in the modern US military. CBS News reported that no one failed the questions specifically intended to establish whether they had leaked to journalists.

The investigation comes after US President Donald Trump intensified his attacks on reporting about weapons shortages and the conduct of the Iran war. Trump has branded media accounts of depleted US munitions supplies "treasonous" and said those responsible for leaks should be pursued.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the department does not comment on internal personnel or investigative matters, but "takes all leaks of classified national security information extremely seriously and investigates accordingly."