A former CIA analyst who leaked classified documents detailing Israel’s plans to attack Iran has been sentenced to 37 months in prison. Asif William Rahman, aged 34, pleaded guilty in January to two counts of the wilful retention and transmission of national defence information under the Espionage Act.
Authorities said that, using his high-level security clearance, Rahman printed, photographed and transmitted highly classified documents, which were later shared on social media.
In October last year, Israel conducted airstrikes on Iran, targeting military facilities in several regions in retaliation for a missile barrage launched by Tehran weeks earlier.
“For months, the defendant betrayed the American people and the oath he took when entering his office, by disclosing some of our nation’s most closely guarded secrets,” said John Eisenberg, Deputy Attorney General for National Security, in a press release.
In October 2024, documents believed to originate from a US Department of Defence agency appeared on an Iranian Telegram account. The documents, marked “Top Secret”, were accessible to members of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, comprising the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. The leaked files included US assessments of Israel’s plans ahead of its strikes on Iran, as well as intelligence on military movements being prepared.
One document referenced Israel’s nuclear capabilities — an issue never officially confirmed by the Israeli government. Asked about the leak, former President Joe Biden said he was “deeply concerned”. Israel carried out its airstrikes later that month, targeting military facilities across several regions in response to Tehran’s earlier missile attack.
Rahman, who had been working abroad, was arrested by the FBI in Cambodia and transported to US territory in Guam, where he was formally charged.
