The Senate will investigate recent national security leaks to the news media in the wake of articles in The New York Times about a “kill list” for terrorists and the use of cyberweapons against Iran, a Senate official said on Tuesday.

Tara Andringa, a spokeswoman for Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, the Democratic chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said the committee would hold hearings “pertaining to recent public reports of classified information.”

Ms. Andringa’s comments came after Republican senators John McCain of Arizona and Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, both called for the appointment of a special counsel to investigate the leaks.

“Such disclosures can only undermine similar ongoing or future operations and, in this sense, compromise national security,” Mr. McCain said on the Senate floor. “For this reason, regardless of how politically useful these leaks may be to the president, they have to stop.”

Mr. McCain referred to the articles in The Times, which detailed Mr. Obama as being personally engaged in the decisions of which terrorists to target, and said he personally directed the cyber efforts against Iran.

Mr. McCain told reporters afterward that he believes the leaks have been designed “to enhance President Obama’s image as a tough guy for the elections.” Mr. McCain is the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee.

The statement from the committee’s chairman, Mr. Levin, said of the hearing that “any discussion of classified information by the committee or committees would necessarily be closed.”