A CIA official has been charged under the Espionage Act for leaking classified U.S. documents that concern Israel’s plans for a retaliatory strike against Iran in response to a missile attack earlier this year, according to court documents and an informed source.

Asif William Rahman was charged on November 7 in federal court in Virginia with two counts of willfully retaining and transmitting national defense information.

Rahman was arrested on Tuesday in Cambodia and then transferred to Guam to face federal court proceedings, as confirmed by court documents. His initial court appearance is set for Thursday in Guam.

The CIA has chosen not to comment on the incident. A spokesperson for the Justice Department declined to provide additional details beyond what is stated in the court documents.

Experts to investigate the reasons behind the leak

The indictment reveals that Rahman accessed a “top secret” and “secure compartmented information” document on October 17 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and shared it with someone without proper clearance.

The document related to the Israeli operation was shared on the messaging app Telegram and seemed to have originated from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. It contained U.S. assessments of Israeli Air Force and Navy planning based on satellite images taken on October 15 and 16. Federal authorities have initiated an investigation into the leak.

Tracy Walder, a former CIA covert operations officer and FBI special agent, emphasized the seriousness of the situation due to Rahman holding such high-level security clearance.

“His leaking of the documents confirms Israel’s possession of nuclear capability and reveals our own intelligence methods,” Walder stated.

Javed Ali, who has held several senior U.S. intelligence roles, indicated that Rahman’s arrest could spark inquiries into the motivations behind the leak and whether there were others involved in obtaining and disseminating the information.

“This is a troubling development for the CIA,” Ali, who is now a professor at the University of Michigan, told YSL News. “Who exactly is this individual? How long has he worked in this capacity? Was he an analyst or a case officer? What could have motivated him to disclose such sensitive information? Was he engaged in operations concerning Iran intelligence?”

Ali highlighted that the case showcases the significant vulnerabilities faced by the U.S. government in securing its most sensitive and politically sensitive intelligence from being leaked.

“The fact that this involves a CIA employee underlines that many individuals in the intelligence community and military have access to some of the government’s most classified information,” Ali pointed out.

Overview of the Israeli operation

Israel’s military announced the completion of a series of airstrikes against Iran in retaliation for an Iranian missile strike, which increases the risk of escalating conflicts in the Middle East, a year after Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7.

Iran’s state television reported that powerful explosions were heard across Tehran, and semi-official Iranian news outlets indicated similar sounds in Karaj, a nearby city.

This Israeli operation followed Iran’s firing of nearly 200 missiles at Israel on October 1, described by Tehran as retaliation for the killing of senior Hezbollah leaders, including Hassan Nasrallah. Most missiles were intercepted by U.S. military support. A Palestinian individual was killed in the West Bank as a result.