A former CIA analyst with top-secret clearance has been sentenced to prison for a shocking betrayal of national security. Asif William Rahman compromised highly classified documents revealing Israel’s plans to strike Iran, forcing Israel to delay its military response and potentially endangering American allies.
At a glance:
• Former CIA analyst Asif William Rahman sentenced to 37 months in prison for leaking classified documents
• The leaked documents detailed Israel’s plans for retaliatory airstrikes against Iran
• Rahman accessed and transmitted top-secret satellite images from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
• The breach forced Israel to delay its planned military response to Iran’s missile attacks
• Rahman had worked for the CIA since 2016 and held top-secret clearance until his arrest in November 2024
Betrayal of National Security
The Department of Justice has sentenced Asif William Rahman, a 34-year-old former CIA analyst, to 37 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to leaking classified documents about Israel’s military preparations. Rahman, who began his CIA career in 2016 and held top-secret clearance, accessed and printed highly sensitive documents from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency on October 17, 2024.
“U.S. Government Employee Charged with Two Counts of Unlawfully Transmitting National Defense Information.”
The DOJ is dribbling out information on Asif William Rahman — the CIA official who illegally leaked classified info on the Israeli response to Iranian missile strikes. pic.twitter.com/bCr3ahy3CP
— Jerry Dunleavy IV
(@JerryDunleavy) November 14, 2024
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg condemned Rahman’s actions in the strongest terms. “For months, this defendant betrayed the American people and the oaths he took upon entering his office by leaking some of our Nation’s most closely held secrets,” Eisenberg stated, highlighting the severe breach of trust.
Compromised Intelligence Operations
The leaked documents, which appeared on social media platforms including Telegram by October 18, 2024, revealed detailed intelligence about Israeli aviation exercises and military movements. These classified materials provided sensitive information about Israel’s planned retaliatory strike against Iran, which had launched nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel on October 1 in response to the killings of senior Hamas and Hezbollah figures.
Former CIA analyst Asif William Rahman, 34, of Vienna, was sentenced today to three years and one month in prison for unlawfully retaining and transmitting Top Secret National Defense Informationhttps://t.co/jEf8XJFAbn
— U.S. Attorney EDVA (@EDVAnews) June 11, 2025
Israeli officials were forced to delay their planned attack after the documents became public, potentially compromising operational security and strategic advantages. Rahman’s unauthorized disclosure not only damaged U.S. intelligence integrity but also strained relations with a key American ally in the Middle East during a period of heightened regional tensions.
Attempted Cover-Up and Consequences
After leaking the classified information, Rahman took extensive steps to hide his actions from authorities. He deleted work products, destroyed electronic devices, and shredded original documents in what court filings described as “an attempt to conceal their source and delete his activity.”
The FBI arrested Rahman in Cambodia on November 12, 2024, where he had been working at the U.S. Embassy when he stole and transmitted the documents. Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division emphasized the gravity of Rahman’s actions, stating, “By stealing and divulging classified information and then attempting to conceal his crimes, Asif Rahman not only violated the law; he also betrayed his oath as a government employee and his responsibility to the American people.”
Despite facing a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison, Rahman received 37 months after pleading guilty to two counts of willful retention and transmission of classified information. The Yale University graduate and former high school valedictorian reportedly cited “family-related grief” and trauma from his assignment in Iraq as factors in his behavior, though these explanations did little to mitigate the seriousness of compromising national security intelligence.
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Author: Editorial Team
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