Asif William Rahman
Asif William Rahman was arrested by the FBI in Cambodia and made a court appearance in Guam on 14 November 2024, during which prosecutors requested his removal from the US territory, according to legal filings in the case. He was charged with leaking classified information prior to Israel’s planned missile attack on Iran in October 2024. Rahman was indicted days earlier in US court in Alexandria, Virginia on two counts of disclosing national defence information under the Espionage Act, and could face a lengthy prison sentence. Court documents showed that Rahman , held a Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) security clearance as part of his role working for the U.S. government, which is common for many CIA employees who handle classified material.
According to an indictment filed in the Eastern District of Virginia on Nov. 7, Rahman, on or about Oct. 17, “willfully retained” a classified document and “transmitted that document to a person not entitled to receive it”, without providing details about the nature of the leak. The New York Times reported that Rahman was employed by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). A CIA spokesperson declined to comment. News of the arrest of Rahman comes a day after a Pentagon leaker, Jack Teixeira, was sentenced in Boston to 15 years in prison for ‘significant’ violations of the Espionage Act.
According to the indictment dated November 7, investigators believe the leak occurred in Cambodia. According to the indictment, the leak is believed to have occurred on October 17, around the time the pro-Iranian Telegram account Middle East Spectator posted documents relating to Israeli preparations for an attack on Iran, based on satellite imagery. Although the Middle East Spectator account said it received the documents from an anonymous source and could not verify their authenticity, investigations indicate that the leak occurred in Cambodia, where Rahman was arrested on November 12. Rahman was expected to make his first appearance in federal court on Guam on Nov. 14 before being transferred to stand trial in the Eastern District of Virginia.
The leaked documents were prepared by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), which analyses images and information collected by US spy satellites. The NGA conducts work in support of secret US military operations. The documents appeared last month on a channel of the Telegram messaging app. The documents noted that Israel was still moving military assets in place to conduct a military strike in response to Iran’s blistering ballistic missile attack on October 1. Israel carried out a retaliatory attack on multiple sites in Iran in late October 2024. After the attack, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned Israel and the US of “a crushing response” for actions against Iran and its allies, according to state media.
The leaked Pentagon documents included details about the transfer of ammunition and warplanes between Israeli Air Force bases, and recent air force training in preparation for the attack. No potential targets for an Israeli response were mentioned. The leaked documents included an analysis conducted by the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency on activities carried out by the Israeli military in preparation for responding to the Iranian missile attack.
The documents began circulating on the Telegram app on a channel with close ties to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. U.S. officials said they did not know where the documents came from and are looking into the original source of the leak. In an earlier statement, the Middle East Spectator account said it received the documents from an anonymous source, that it had no connection to the original source that leaked the documents and cannot verify their authenticity. The FBI confirmed it was investigating the identity of the leaker, saying it was “working closely with our partners in the Department of Defense and the intelligence community,” while the White House said that “President Joe Biden is deeply concerned about the leaks.”
The FBI investigates violations of the Espionage Act, which prohibits the unauthorized retention of defense-related information that might harm the United States or aid a foreign enemy. The US House of Representatives held a secret session on the leak of intelligence information, announcing the opening of an investigation into the circumstances of the leak.
The former CIA analyst pleaded guilty in federal court in Virginia on 17 January 2025 to charges of leaking classified information about Israeli plans to attack Iran. Asif Rahman, 34, pleaded guilty in federal court in Virginia to two counts of intentionally retaining and transmitting classified national defense information, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Prosecutors said Rahman, a CIA employee since 2016, abused his access to top-secret information to obtain, delete and print two documents about Israel and plans to attack Iran. He then shared the documents with people who did not have security clearances authorized to receive the information. The U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement that starting in the spring of 2024 and continuing until November, Rahman shared "top secret information" he learned in his work with "multiple individuals he knew had no right to receive it."
In his guilty plea, Rahman admitted that he illegally downloaded, printed and distributed classified information on multiple occasions, including several times in 2024. Court records in the case say that in the spring of 2024, Rahman used his work computer to print out five documents marked "confidential" and "top secret" and took them home. He then copied and modified the documents and shared them with people who had no legal right to receive them. To cover up his actions, Rahman deleted records of his activities from his electronic devices or took them back to work and destroyed them.
Court documents say the second time was in the fall of 2024, when Rahman printed out another 10 top-secret documents and took them home to share with others; then on October 17, 2024, he printed out two more documents related to plans by U.S. allies to combat foreign adversaries.
The U.S. government said in court documents that the leak caused Israel to delay its planned retaliatory strikes on Iranian air defenses and missile manufacturing facilities in late October. "In his guilty plea today, Asif Rahman acknowledged that he betrayed his nation's trust and disclosed classified information with reckless disregard for the risks to the United States and our allies," Robert Wells, executive assistant director of the FBI's National Security Division, said.
The files can be shared within the so-called Five Eyes alliance, which includes the United States, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. According to court documents filed by Rahman's attorney, Rahman was born in California and moved to Cincinnati with his family when he was a child. He was valedictorian of his high school. He attended Yale University and graduated in just three years. He now lives in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area with his wife and parents.
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