A CIA official is accused of leaking classified documents about Israeli military plans. Asif Rahman, who was working overseas at the time of his arrest, was arrested by the FBI on Tuesday and faces two counts of violating the Espionage Act.
Asif Rahman is suspected of transferring classified information about possible Israeli military operations against Iran. According to sources, Rahman had a top-secret security clearance with access to sensitive information, the Associated Press reports.
Court documents show he will be charged with willfully transmitting classified information – a charge that could lead to a long prison sentence.
The charges stem from documents attributed to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, which appeared last month on a social media channel.
The documents state that Israel is still moving military assets in preparation for a military strike against Iran, in response to its powerful ballistic missile attacks against Israel on October 1.
BREAKING: CIA official Asif Rahman arrested in leak of secret files on Israel.
Rahman was arrested in Cambodia and flow to guam,where he is charged with two counts of violating the Espionage Act.#BreakingNews #CIA #Israel #Palestine pic.twitter.com/GHMEopla8I
— BRICS News Commentary (@BRICSinffo) November 14, 2024
Risk of long prison sentence
The leaked documents are intended to be shared within the “Five Eyes” intelligence alliance, consisting of the US, UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Countries that are part of the multilateral UKUSA agreement, a treaty for joint cooperation in signals intelligence.
The FBI launched its investigation after the documents appeared on the Telegram platform and is now investigating whether the information was intentionally leaked by an intelligence officer or whether the documents were obtained through cyberattacks.
According to The New York Times, anonymous officials said that the documents were not very detailed but only showed what analysts, based on reviewed satellite imagery, were able to obtain at the time.
Asif Rahman was arrested by FBI agents in Cambodia, and is reportedly expected to make his first court appearance in Guam today, Thursday. If convicted, he faces a lengthy prison sentence for espionage.
It has not yet been made public whether Rahman has retained a lawyer, and at the time of writing the CIA has declined to comment on the arrest.
Related articles:
90% of Gaza's population is displaced. Almost 50,0...
The White House is urging Ukraine to lower the age...
The freedom of expression organization Reporters W...
