CIA member arrested, accused of leaking Pentagon documents on Israeli plans to attack Iran
Asif William Rahman, who worked for the intelligence agency overseas, was arrested in Cambodia.
Central Intelligence Agency
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested a member of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Cambodia who is suspected of leaking secret Pentagon documents related to Israel's plans to carry out a counteroffensive against Iran, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
According to the report, which was published with information from court documents and statements from sources connected to the matter, the suspect is Asif William Rahman, who worked overseas.
The U.S.-based newspaper noted that Rahman, who had access to extremely confidential information in the CIA, was arrested this Tuesday in Cambodia following an indictment filed against him last week in a federal court in Virginia.
What are the charges against Rahman?
The suspect is charged with two counts of possession and intentional transfer of information linked to national security.
Rahman is expected to appear to testify Thursday in a court on the island of Guam, a U.S. territory in Micronesia in the Western Pacific.
The newspaper said the CIA declined to comment on the report.
Leak caused delay in Israeli counteroffensive against Iran
The documents were leaked last month, when Israel was preparing to launch a counteroffensive against Iran in response to about 200 ballistic missiles fired by the Iranians at Israeli territory on Oct. 1.
British newspaper The Times reported days before Israel's attack that the leak of classified Pentagon documents had postponed the Israeli counteroffensive.
The classified documents included details of the Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) plans to launch a ballistic missile offensive against Iran, which resulted in Tehran being better prepared for the attack.
However, due to the leak of the documents, Israel was forced to change its strategy and certain components of the counteroffensive, Israeli intelligence sources indicated at the time, per Israeli news portal Ynet.
The leaked documents first appeared on a pro-Iranian channel of the Telegram messaging app before they were shared on X.
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