 "The seal on the J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building is seen June 9, 2023, in Washington. File Image / AP")
The Justice Department has charged a man for allegedly leaking highly classified US intelligence related to Israel’s plans for retaliation against Iran.
According to a CNN report, citing a person familiar with his employment, Asif W Rahman was employed by the CIA and was indicted last Thursday on charges of willfully retaining and transmitting national defence information.
However, Court documents indicate he was employed by the US government.
Rahman was arrested on Tuesday in Cambodia and is set to appear in court in Guam, although the Justice Department has requested that he be transferred to Virginia for trial.
Court documents reveal that Rahman held a top-secret security clearance, granting him access to sensitive compartmentalised information, added the report.
The New York Times was the first to report on Rahman’s indictment.
In mid-October, a Telegram account named “Middle East Spectator” posted top-secret documents marked for US and “Five Eyes” allies (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK).
CNN previously reported that one document, compiled by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, details a plan involving Israeli munitions, while another from the National Security Agency outlines Israeli Air Force exercises with air-to-surface missiles.
One of the documents document also alludes to Israel’s nuclear capabilities, a subject the country has never publicly confirmed, stating that the US has seen no signs of Israel planning to use nuclear weapons against Iran.
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More ShortsWith inputs from agencies