U.S. Government Official Charged With Leaking Israel’s Plans To Attack Iran

Ty Roush

A man who was employed by the U.S. government has been charged with leaking classified documents that assessed Israel’s plans to retaliate against Iran earlier this year, according to court filings on Wednesday.

Key Facts

Asif William Rahman was arrested in Cambodia on Tuesday and charged with two counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information, according to filings in Guam’s federal court.

It is not immediately clear which federal agency employed Rahman, though The New York Times, citing people familiar with the matter, reported Rahman is a CIA official who worked abroad for the agency.

The Justice Department has requested Rahman be transferred to a federal district court in Virginia, which filed an indictment against Rahman on Nov. 7, to respond to the charges.

The CIA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Crucial Quote

An anonymous Israeli official told the Washington Post last month the content of the leak is “not that significant,” adding: “The fact that there was a leak is a lot more significant.”

Key Background

The FBI announced in October the agency was investigating a leak of classified U.S. intelligence about Israel’s plans to retaliate against Iran.

The documents reportedly circulated online after being posted on Telegram by an account called “Middle East Spectator,” and were intended to only be seen by U.S. officials and its “Five Eyes” allies, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the U.K. One of the documents appeared to be compiled by the Defense Department’s National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which operates the intelligence community’s spy satellites, and another appeared to be sourced to the National Security Agency, according to the Post. Israel struck military targets in Iran just days after the leak on Oct. 25, more than three weeks after Iran launched ballistic missiles at the country.