National Defense

Feds Reportedly Charge CIA Official For Leaking Classified Docs About Israeli Attack Plans Against Iran

(Screen Capture/PBS NewsHour)

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) authorities reportedly charged a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) official Tuesday with disclosing classified documents that revealed Israeli attack plans against Iran, according to The New York Times.

Asif W. Rahman was arrested in Cambodia Tuesday after documents prepared by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency — a combat support agency within the U.S. Department of Defense — were posted in a Telegram channel in October, the NYT reported Wednesday. The documents were highly classified and included an analysis of satellite imagery that suggested a possible Israeli strike on Iran.

Rahman allegedly worked abroad for the CIA and held a top secret security clearance, as is common for CIA officials handling classified documents, the NYT reported. He has now been brought to Guam where he is expected to appear in federal court Thursday.

🚨 The Iran leaker has been arrested!

A CIA official, Asif Rahman, was arrested by the FBI this week in Cambodia, where he worked for the US government abroad, and charged with leaking classified information about Israel’s plans to attack Iran.

— Marina Medvin 🇺🇸 (@MarinaMedvin) November 13, 2024

Rahman has been charged with two counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information under the Espionage Act, according to the NYT. However, it remains unclear if the former CIA official was the original source of the leak, or if he acted alone.

The arrest follows the sentencing of Jack Teixeira — an American airman who leaked hundreds of restricted Pentagon documents on Discord — to 15 years in prison Tuesday. It also comes after an internal review of security practices at the Department of Defense released in July 2023 found no systemic counterintelligence weakness.

The Justice Department and CIA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.