Ruppersberger said it was vital that bipartisan efforts were made to "follow the facts wherever they go" but reiterated that the source of the information was not known.

"These leaks have been occurring more and more," he said, adding that they were the worst he had seen in nearly 10 years on the intelligence panel.

The leaks could come from within Congress or the executive branch, he acknowledged.

The Intelligence Committee leaders met Thursday with FBI Director Robert Mueller, whose agency is investigating the leaks, according to legislators.

Specifically, the FBI has launched an investigation into apparent leaks of classified information involving the cyberwarfare program against Iran, a U.S. official said this week.

The agency is also investigating the thwarted Yemen plot, according to Mueller.

In its report, The New York Times said that since shortly after he became president, Obama has ordered cyberattacks targeting computers that run Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities. It attributed the information to participants in the program.

McCain, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, alleged that the White House authorized the leaks for political gain.

"These leaks clearly were not done in the interest of national security or to reveal corrupt or illegal actions about which the public has a right to know, as in the case of legitimate whistleblowers," McCain said. "It is difficult to escape the conclusion that these recent leaks of highly classified information, all of which have the effect of making the president look strong and decisive on national security in the middle of his re-election campaign, have a deeper political motivation."

The White House pushed back, with spokesman Jay Carney saying that "this administration takes all appropriate and necessary steps to prevent leaks of classified information or sensitive information that could risk ongoing counterterrorism or intelligence operations."