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A former CIA analyst has been sentenced to 37 months in prison for leaking classified documents detailing Israel’s planned military actions against Iran.
Asif William Rahman, aged 34, had pleaded guilty in January to two counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information in violation of the Espionage Act.
According to US authorities, Rahman misused his high-level security clearance by printing, photographing, and disseminating top-secret intelligence documents. These documents were eventually circulated widely on social media platforms.
The leaked information pertained to Israel’s air strikes on Iran in October of the previous year, which targeted multiple military facilities across various regions. The strikes were in retaliation for a volley of missiles launched by Tehran just weeks earlier.
“For months, this defendant betrayed the American people and the oaths he took upon entering his office by leaking some of our Nation’s most closely held secrets,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg said in a press statement.
The sensitive documents first appeared in October 2024 on a Telegram channel associated with pro-Iranian groups. The leak included files believed to be from a Department of Defense agency and marked as top secret. These files were also reportedly accessible to members of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance—comprising the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Among the contents of the leak were the US government’s assessments of Israel’s military plans in advance of the strike on Iran, as well as intelligence on the movement of military assets during the operational buildup. One document specifically referenced Israel’s nuclear capabilities—an issue that has never been officially confirmed or denied by the Israeli government.
Commenting on the leak at the time, former US President Joe Biden expressed that he was “deeply concerned” about the breach.
Following the leak, Israel proceeded with its planned air strikes later in October, targeting Iranian military locations in a coordinated campaign in response to Tehran’s earlier missile barrage.
Rahman, who had been working overseas, was apprehended by the FBI while in Cambodia. He was subsequently extradited to the US territory of Guam, where he faced formal charges.
The sentencing underscores the ongoing risks posed by insider threats and unauthorized disclosures of classified intelligence, particularly during periods of heightened geopolitical tension.
