Arrest of CIA Official Accused of Leaking Israeli Military Plans Against Iran

A CIA official, who was arrested this week, has been accused of leaking classified information regarding Israel's previous plans to attack Iran. The New York Times and the Associated Press reported on Wednesday, November 23, that a court document states this individual was charged last week in a federal court in Virginia with two counts of willful retention of classified documents and transmission of national defense information. FBI agents arrested this individual, identified as 'Asif William Rahman,' in Cambodia on Tuesday and transferred him for trial to a federal court in Guam, USA. According to reports, 'Asif William Rahman' had been working for the CIA outside the United States and had been granted access to highly classified documents. The New York Times was the first media outlet to report his arrest. What do the leaked documents about Israel's attack on Iran contain? The content of two highly classified documents attributed to the Pentagon, which this individual is linked to leaking, was first published on Friday, October 27, on the Telegram channel 'Middle East Spectator,' known to support the Islamic Republic of Iran. This channel claimed it received these documents from a source within U.S. intelligence agencies but did not provide further details. The documents refer to the preparations of the Israeli Air Force, including missile drills and the movement of munitions, and even mention Israel's nuclear weapons. The United States, which shared these documents with the 'Five Eyes' (including the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand), considers this information leak serious and is investigating its source. On the other hand, Israeli officials have remained silent about the leak and continue their meetings for potential planning against Iran. Ron Ben-Yishai, an Israeli military commentator, wrote in Yedioth Ahronoth that the leaked documents do not contain details with a general picture of the objectives that Israel has in mind for responding to Iran, but rather describe the overall preparations for a distant air force attack, and intelligence experts and the Revolutionary Guards, based on the information they already possess, would be able to guess this information. Following the date of this information leak, Israel targeted some missile and air defense facilities of the Islamic Republic in response to a missile attack from Iran on October 1, and on November 5. Earlier, the possibility of an Israeli attack on Iran's oil and nuclear infrastructure was raised, but Western media reported that Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, refrained from attacking Iran's nuclear and oil facilities in coordination with the U.S. and considering their concerns.