CIA official charged with violating Espionage Act for leaking documents revealing Israel's plans to attack Iran

A CIA official has been charged with violating the Espionage Act after the FBI found him responsible for the recent leak of classified documents that revealed Israeli plans to attack Iran.

The man, Asif W. Rahman, was charged last week in federal court in Virginia with two counts of intentionally storing and disclosing national defense information, according to the New York Times, offenses that could carry significant prison sentences. (Former U.S. Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira, who himself recorded an anti-Semitic rant, was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison on similar charges.)

Rahman, who was working abroad, was arrested in Cambodia on Tuesday and taken to Guam, where he will appear in court on Thursday.

The documents came from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which supports clandestine and military operations, and the National Security Agency and appeared on the messaging app Telegram in October. The documents revealed that Israel was preparing a military strike in retaliation for Iran's rocket fire on Israel on October 1. Rahman reportedly had a top secret security clearance.

Israel carried out attacks on military targets in Iran in late October.

The FBI acknowledged the leak last month and said, according to the Times, that it was “working closely with our Defense Department and intelligence partners” to determine the source of the leak.

Rahman's arrest also follows various leaks in Israel that roiled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's war cabinet and contributed to his decision to fire Defense Minister Yoav Gallant last week.