The FBI on Tuesday charged CIA officer Asif Rahman with leaking highly classified documents detailing Israel’s planned retaliation against Iran following a missile attack earlier this year.
The incident underscores concern the CIA needs reform due to the perception by critics it often allegedly operates outside the scope of the national interest.
As first reported by The New York Times:
The documents were prepared by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which analyzes images and information collected by U.S. spy satellites. It conducts work in support of clandestine and military operations.
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The information in the documents is highly classified and details interpretations of satellite imagery that shed light on a possible strike by Israel on Iran. They began circulating last month on the Telegram app. U.S. officials have previously said that they did not know from where the documents had been taken, and that they were looking for the original source of the leak.
Court documents said Mr. Rahman held a top secret security clearance with access to sensitive compartmentalized information, which is typical for many C.I.A. employees who handle classified materials.
The FBI acknowledged in October that it began investigating the leak.
Before the arrest of Rahman, some tried to blame without evidence an Iranian American Pentagon official for the leak. Fox News’s Jennifer Griffin reported on those allegations:
“Fox News has confirmed the alleged leaker of Israeli war planning Asif Rahman was arrested in Cambodia and reportedly worked for the CIA, not DOD. A reminder that those who reported without evidence that Iranian American Pentagon official Ariane Tabatabai who had worked in SOLIC was responsible for the leak should correct the record. She has been maligned repeatedly without evidence. We reported as much at the time.”
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