CIA employee charged with leaking Israel's plan to attack Iran pleads guilty

A CIA employee accused of leaking classified information regarding Israel's October plans to attack Iran pleaded guilty on Friday to charges of willfully retaining and sharing national defense information, according to the US Department of Justice.

Asif William Rahman, who had been employed at the US intelligence agency since 2016, confessed to illegally downloading, printing, and distributing classified materials on multiple occasions, including several incidents in 2024.

The FBI apprehended Rahman in Cambodia in November, later transferring him to federal court in Guam to face charges.

The leaked information pertains to intelligence from US satellites detailing preparations for an Israeli air assault on Iran, aimed at retaliation for an October 1 missile attack on Israel.

Two US intelligence documents dated October 15 and 16, originally restricted to the "Five Eyes" intelligence-sharing alliance (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States), appeared last month on the pro-Iran Telegram channel Middle East Spectator as Israel geared up to respond to the barrage of 181 ballistic missiles.

The platform’s X account lists its location as the Islamic Republic of Iran.

In a public statement, Middle East Spectator denied any direct connection to the original source of the leaks, saying, “we assume [it to be] a whistleblower within the US State Department.”