Saudi Arabia’s leader, King Abdullah, has reportedly asked the US several times to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities, according to a new wave of sensitive documents released through world-famous WikiLeaks.
American diplomacy suffered yet another severe blow as 250,000 documents were given by WikiLeaks to five distinct media companies. The documents contain among other things observations on foreign leaders, sensitive information on nuclear proliferation and terrorism.
The newspapers that had a preview of the documents are The Guardian in Britain, Der Spiegel in Germany, Le Monde in France, El Pais in Spain and The New York Times.
According to The Guardian, the Saudi King has allegedly asked the US frequently to put an end to the Iranian nuclear program through military intervention.
Among other things, the documents, from 2007 or after, also reveal US claims that China was involved in an electronic incursion into Google’s systems as part of a sabotage campaign carried jointly by the Chinese Politburo and its agents and private security specialists and cybercriminals.
According to the New York Times, many of the documents contained references to sources of US diplomats, from journalists, to human rights fighters, politicians and military personnel. Often the documents contain indications to protect the sources’ identities.
The White House firmly condemned the release of the documents, warning that it could endanger the country’s personnel and their agents.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said that the release was irresponsible, as it puts lives of intelligence workers and diplomats, as well as people who cooperate with either of the two aforementioned categories and come from oppressive regimes.
Security analysts consider this latest release by WikiLeaks as a terrible blow to US diplomacy. Informed beforehand of the contents of leaked documents, the US has contacted governments in Europe and Middle East, including Russia, in an attempt to limit the potential damages.
