A United States government official has been charged with allegedly leaking classified documents appearing to show Israeli plans for a retaliatory attack on Iran.
The official, named as Asif Rahman, was arrested in Cambodia on Tuesday and brought to federal court in the American territory of Guam yesterday to face charges, according to the indictment, seen by US media.
He is due to appear in court today.
His detention came after there was fury and embarrassment in Joe Biden’s administration when Israel’s plans to strike back at Iran were leaked.
Jerusalem subsequently carried out air strikes on Iran in late October, targeting military sites in several regions, in response to the barrage of missiles launched by Tehran weeks earlier.
But the leaked classified documents are said to have contained the US’s assessment of the plans ahead of the attack, as well as the movements of Israeli military assets in preparation.
According to reports in New York, arrested Mr Rahman formerly worked for the CIA abroad and held a top secret security clearance.
He will appear in court today, charged with two counts of wilfully transmitting classified information.
The documents that Mr Rahman allegedly leaked were not stated in the court documents, but a source confirmed that they related to the Israeli attack plans.
In October, two documents appearing to be attributed to the US National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, a Department of Defence agency, were leaked and published on an Iranian-aligned Telegram account.
The files, marked top secret, were shareable between the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, made up of the US, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
The documents appeared to be based on satellite information obtained from 15-16 October.
The first was titled: “Israel: Air Force Continues Preparations for Strike on Iran and Conducts a Second Large-Force Employment Exercise.” It described ballistic and air-to-surface missile handling.
The second was titled: “Israel: Defense Forces Continue Key Munitions Preparations and Covert UAV Activity Almost Certainly for a Strike on Iran.” It discussed Israeli drone movements.
Israel then carried out its retaliatory strike on Iran on 26 October, having spent weeks deciding how to respond to the missiles fired by Tehran on 1 October.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it targeted military sites in several regions, with subsequent reports suggesting an Iranian missile production site had been hit. One civilian and four soldiers were killed in the attacks, Iranian authorities said.
Iran had earlier launched around 180 ballistic missiles at Israel in response to the killings of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders.
The US Department of Justice has not yet commented on Mr Rahman’s arrest.
