CIA official charged over classified docs leak on Israeli plans to strike Iran
Asif William Rahman arrested in Cambodia, set to appear before court in Guam; documents circulated on social media over a week before Israel’s Oct. 26 airstrikes
WASHINGTON — A man who worked for the US government has been charged with leaking classified information assessing Israel’s earlier plans to attack Iran, according to court papers filed Wednesday.
The man, identified as Asif William Rahman, was arrested by the FBI this week in Cambodia and was due to make his first court appearance in Guam.
He was indicted last week in a US court in Virginia on two counts of willful transmission of national defense information — felony charges that can carry significant prison sentences.
It was not immediately clear whether he had a lawyer or which federal agency employed him.
No further details were available on Rahman.
The New York Times was the first to report his arrest, identifying him as a CIA employee.
The leaked Pentagon documents circulated on social media ahead of Israel’s October 26 airstrikes on Iranian military sites, which came in response to the Islamic Republic’s ballistic missile barrage on October 1.
My Colleague, Middle East Spectator, has leaked some documents relating to an NGIA analysis done by the Pentagon in recent activities in Israel relating to a response against Iran.
The documents are probably real. https://t.co/vkACSN1Lo5 pic.twitter.com/5qIllcvDtL
— MedManOG (@MedManOG) October 17, 2024
The documents, attributed to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency, noted that Israel was moving military assets in place to conduct its military strike, based on satellite imagery from October 15-16.
They were shareable within the “Five Eyes,” an intelligence alliance comprised of the US, Great Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
Marked top secret, the documents first appeared on the Telegram messaging app in October and quickly spread among Telegram channels popular with Iranians.
Tehran launched some 200 ballistic missiles at Israel on October 1, sending most of the population rushing to bomb shelters and safe rooms. The assault — Iran’s second direct attack on Israel, after a drone and missile strike in April — caused relatively minor damage to military bases and some residential areas in Israel and killed a Palestinian man in the West Bank.
Iran said its October 1 attack came in retaliation for the killing of Tehran-backed terror leaders and an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander.
Iran has threatened to strike Israel again after Israel retaliated last month with airstrikes on Iranian air defense batteries and military sites protecting crucial energy facilities.
