Former CIA employee pleads guilty to leaking files on Israel’s Iran strikes

Asif William Rahman has pled blameworthy to transmitting classified nationalist defence information, the US Justice Department says.

A erstwhile Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) worker has pleaded blameworthy to leaking concealed documents astir Israel’s plans to onslaught Iran past twelvemonth during a play of escalating determination tensions linked to Israel’s warfare connected Gaza and Lebanon.

In a connection connected Friday, the United States Department of Justice said Asif William Rahman, 34, pleaded blameworthy to 2 counts of “willful retention and transmission of classified information” related to nationalist defence.

He is scheduled to beryllium sentenced connected May 15 and faces a maximum punishment of 10 years successful situation for some counts, according to a plea agreement.

“Mr. Rahman betrayed the spot of the American radical by unlawfully sharing classified nationalist defence accusation helium swore an oath to protect,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew G Olsen said successful the statement.

“Today’s blameworthy plea demonstrates that the Justice Department volition spare nary effort to swiftly find and aggressively prosecute those who harm the United States by illegally disclosing our nationalist information secrets.”

The FBI arrested Rahman — whom the US authorities said was an worker of the CIA since 2016 and had a Top-Secret information clearance — successful Cambodia successful November.

US media outlets reported astatine the clip that American officials accused him of leaking documents prepared by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), which analyses images and accusation collected by US spy satellites.

The NGA besides conducts enactment successful enactment of concealed US subject operations.

The documents, which appeared successful October connected a transmission of the Telegram messaging app, had noted that Israel was moving subject assets successful spot to behaviour a subject onslaught successful effect to a ballistic rocket onslaught by Iran connected October 1.

Iran said those launches were carried retired successful retaliation for the assassination of Hamas person Ismail Haniyeh successful the Iranian capital, Tehran, arsenic good arsenic the sidesplitting of a elder Iranian subject official.

Israel carried retired its own attack connected aggregate sites successful Iran successful precocious October.

Citing tribunal documents, the Justice Department said connected Friday that Rahman had accessed and printed 2 documents marked “Top Secret” that contained nationalist defence accusation “regarding a US overseas state and its planned actions against a overseas adversary”.

“Rahman removed the documents, photographed them, and transmitted them to individuals helium knew were not entitled to person them,” the section said.

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies