The accused of leaking documents about Israel’s plans to attack Iran pleads guilty

In Cambodia, during November 2024, the FBI arrested Asif Rahman, 34 years old, who had been working for the CIA since 2016 and held a security clearance that entitled him to access top-secret classified documents.

Rahman faces up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty in federal court in Virginia to two counts of intentionally retaining national defense information and transmitting it to a third party.

According to a court document, on October 17, 2024, Rahman printed two highly classified documents related to a foreign ally of the United States and its planned kinetic actions against a foreign adversary.
The document indicated that “he photographed the documents and used a computer program to modify the images in an attempt to hide their source and delete his activity.”

Rahman then transferred the documents to several individuals who he knew were not entitled to receive them, and shredded them at the workplace.

The document stated that “Rahman also destroyed several electronic devices, including a personal portable device and an Internet router that he used to transmit confidential information,” and disposed of the damaged devices in waste containers in public places.

The documents shared on the Telegram application by the Middle East Spectator account included a description of Israeli preparations for a possible strike on Iran, but did not specify any actual targets.

According to the Washington Post, documents created by the US National Geospatial Intelligence Agency described flight training and ammunition transfers at an Israeli airport, and the leak prompted Israeli officials to postpone their retaliatory strike.

“Rahman betrayed the trust of the American people by illegally sharing (with a third party) classified national defense information that he was sworn to protect,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen said in a statement.

The ruling will be issued against him on May 15th.