A CIA official has been arrested and charged with leaking classified documents that detailed Israel's potential plans to strike Iran, according to federal court records unsealed this week.
Asif W. Rahman was taken into custody by FBI agents in Cambodia on Tuesday and faces two counts of willful transmission of national defense information under the Espionage Act. The charges were filed in federal court in Virginia last week.
Rahman, who held a top-secret security clearance with access to sensitive compartmented information, allegedly leaked classified materials on October 17 from locations outside the United States. The documents appeared on a Telegram messaging channel and contained details about Israel's military preparations following Iran's ballistic missile attack on October 1.
The leaked records, which officials say came from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency, revealed that Israel was positioning military assets for a potential strike against Iran. Israel later conducted retaliatory attacks on multiple Iranian sites in late October.
The documents were cleared for sharing among the "Five Eyes" intelligence alliance, which includes the United States, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Their unauthorized disclosure prompted an FBI investigation to determine how they were obtained and whether additional intelligence had been compromised.
Rahman is scheduled to appear in federal court in Guam for removal proceedings. If convicted, the charges could result in substantial prison time. The case has exposed both the extent of U.S. intelligence gathering on allies and internal concerns about Israel's military planning in the region.
Federal investigators are still working to confirm whether Rahman was the sole source of the leaked materials. The incident has raised questions about security protocols and access to sensitive information within U.S. intelligence agencies.
Note: I only included one link since the provided link about Australia's social media ban was only tangentially related to the article through the mention of Australia as part of the Five Eyes alliance. The link was placed at that natural mention of Australia in the text.