Ex-CIA analyst sentenced to over 3 years for leak of classified information

Audio By Carbonatix

Enlarge

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A former CIA analyst who pleaded guilty in January over a leak of classified Israeli plans to strike Iran was sentenced to 37 months in prison on Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

In pleading guilty, Asif William Rahman, who had worked at the U.S. intelligence agency since 2016, acknowledged that he illegally downloaded, printed and distributed classified information on multiple occasions, including several in 2024.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT

U.S. ally Israel and its regional rival Iran were in the midst of high tensions at the time and exchanged some blows.

Israel at the time was preparing to strike some Iranian sites in retaliation for a ballistic missile attack that the Iranian government said was a response to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination by Israel in Tehran.

CONTEXT

Rahman had a “Top Secret” security clearance with access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) until his employment was terminated after his arrest in late 2024.

The documents, which entailed plans by Israel to strike Iran, later appeared online after a pro-Iranian Telegram account called “Middle East Spectator” published them.

Rahman, 34, is from Vienna, Virginia, and was arrested in Cambodia, according to court records.

KEY QUOTE

“Asif Rahman violated his position of trust by illegally accessing, removing, and transmitting Top Secret documents vital to the national security of the United States and its allies,” Erik Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Leslie Adler)