A former CIA analyst, Asif William Rahman, 34, of Vienna, Virginia, pled guilty this week to charges of stealing and leaking classified information regarding Israeli retaliation plans against Iran.
The plans were part of Israel’s response to Iran’s October 2024 ballistic missile attacks. Rahman, who had been employed by the CIA since 2016 and held Top-Secret clearance with access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI), faces severe legal consequences for his actions.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Rahman accessed and printed two Top Secret documents on October 17, 2024, containing National Defense Information (NDI) related to Israel’s planned retaliatory strikes. The following day, the classified information began circulating on social media and was widely reported.
Rahman pled guilty to two counts of willful retention and transmission of NDI, a violation of the Espionage Act. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, and Rahman remains in custody awaiting sentencing.
“Mr. Rahman betrayed the trust of the American people by unlawfully sharing classified national defense information he swore an oath to protect,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
“Today’s guilty plea demonstrates that the Justice Department will spare no effort to swiftly find and aggressively prosecute those who harm the United States by illegally disclosing our national security secrets.”
This case highlights the critical importance of safeguarding classified information to protect U.S. and allied national security interests.
