Ex-CIA Analyst Jailed for Leaking Israeli War Plans on Iran

On June 11, 2025, Asif W. Rahman, a 34-year-old former CIA analyst, was sentenced to three years and one month in prison for leaking classified documents detailing Israeli military preparations for strikes on Iran. Rahman pleaded guilty to two Espionage Act violations after admitting to disclosing over a dozen top-secret files while stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Cambodia. The most critical leak involved two National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency reports outlining Israeli aviation drills and munitions movements, indicating imminent attack plans. U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles underscored the gravity of the breach, stating, “I don’t think the severity, the seriousness, of the conduct can be overstated. Our intelligence community has a responsibility of keeping our nation safe, and when things are done to compromise that in any way, it puts us all in danger.”

The leaked documents, which surfaced on the Telegram channel “Middle East Spectator” in mid-October 2024, spread rapidly online, coinciding with Iran’s launch of nearly 200 missiles at Israel in retaliation for the killings of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders. The files, while lacking images, included sensitive intelligence on Israel’s nuclear capabilities, forcing Israel to postpone its planned counterstrike. FBI investigators traced the leaks to Rahman’s embassy workstation, leading to his arrest in Cambodia in November 2024 and transfer to Guam for prosecution.

Rahman, a Yale honors graduate and former finance professional, expressed remorse in a letter to the court, writing, “It is hard to see now how I could have seen this then, but when I committed my offenses I thought they would help protect Americans and American interests. Now, I face the harsh reality that they did the opposite, and I worry constantly that Americans, particularly members of the military serving in the Middle East, will suffer harm as a result.” His defense cited personal struggles, including trauma from a Baghdad posting and his wife’s miscarriage, reducing his sentence from the nine years prosecutors sought. Israel executed its strikes on Iranian military sites in late October 2024, though the leak’s full impact remains undisclosed amid ongoing regional tensions and 57 Israeli hostages still held by Hamas.