Ex-CIA agent admits leaking Israeli strike plans on Iran
Shafaq News/ A former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employee, Asif William Rahman, has pleaded guilty to leaking classified documents detailing Israel’s plans for a military strike on Iran, the US Department of Justice revealed.
Rahman, 34, who worked at the CIA since 2016 and held Top Secret clearance, was arrested by the FBI in Cambodia in November 2024. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 15 and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for two counts of “willful retention and transmission of classified information,” the US Department of Justice said in a statement.
“Mr. Rahman betrayed the trust of the American people by unlawfully sharing classified national defense information he swore an oath to protect,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G Olsen, emphasizing the seriousness of the breach.
He added, “Today’s guilty plea demonstrates that the Justice Department will spare no effort to swiftly find and aggressively prosecute those who harm the United States by illegally disclosing our national security secrets.”
According to court filings, Rahman accessed and printed classified documents throughout 2024. In the spring of that year, he printed five classified documents labeled “Secret” and “Top Secret” from his workplace, removed them, altered their content, and shared them with unauthorized individuals. He deleted traces of his actions and shredded returned documents to conceal his activities.
Later in the fall of 2024, he printed another 10 classified documents and shared them with individuals not authorized to receive such information. On October 17, 2024, Rahman printed two additional Top Secret documents detailing Israel’s military response plans against Iran. These materials outlined Israel’s preparations for retaliatory strikes following an Iranian ballistic missile attack on October 1, 2024.
Israeli news outlet I24 reported that the leaked documents later surfaced on the pro-Iran Telegram channel “Middle East Spectator.” The intelligence detailed Israel’s response plans to Iranian missile launches, which were reportedly carried out in retaliation for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and the killing of a senior Iranian military leader.
In late October 2024, Israel conducted retaliatory airstrikes targeting multiple sites in Iran, with leaked intelligence shedding light on its military positioning and strategy.
US media reported that Rahman also leaked materials from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), which specializes in satellite image analysis supporting US military and intelligence operations.
The Justice Department stated that Rahman had photographed and transmitted sensitive NGA materials to unauthorized individuals.
