A former CIA employee, Asif William Rahman, admitted on Friday to retaining and distributing classified US defense information, including sensitive details about "Israel's" plans to strike Iran, according to the Department of Justice.

Rahman, who joined the CIA in 2016, confessed to illegally downloading, printing, and sharing classified materials on multiple occasions, including throughout 2024.

In the spring of that year, he printed five documents marked secret and top secret from his work computer, took them to his home, altered the content, and shared them with unauthorized individuals, court records revealed. To conceal his actions, he deleted his activity, returned the documents to the office, and had them shredded.

The case escalated later in autumn 2024, when Rahman printed an additional 10 top-secret files, brought them home, and shared them. Then, on October 17, 2024, Rahman accessed and printed two more documents detailing plans by a US ally to strike a foreign adversary. These documents, outlining "Israel's" plans to strike Iran, were later published by the pro-Iranian Telegram account "Middle East Spectator."

Read more: Leaked US files detail preparations for Israeli strike on Iran

According to court records, Rahman was arrested in Cambodia and charged under the Espionage Act for retaining and transmitting classified national defense information. The charges were filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

"Rahman knowingly removed and shared some of the nation's most sensitive information," court filings stated. His actions have drawn significant attention due to the potential repercussions of the leaked material.

Rahman, who is 34 and resides in Vienna, Virginia, is scheduled to be sentenced on May 15. 

Security Breaches

A similar incident occurred back in May 2024 when Jack Teixeira, a former member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for leaking classified US defense information.

Teixeira, who worked as a cyber transport systems journeyman, had unlawfully retained and shared hundreds of pages of documents marked top secret on the online platform Discord.

Read more: Jack Teixeira: The man behind the leaked US documents

Another incident occurred involving a Chinese spy, Alexander Yuk Ching Ma, a former CIA officer who pleaded guilty in May 2024 to conspiring to share classified US defense information with the People's Republic of China.

Ma, who worked for the CIA from 1982 to 1989, admitted to providing sensitive information to Chinese intelligence officials in exchange for financial compensation.

Court records revealed that Ma met with Chinese agents in Hong Kong in 2001, where he disclosed classified information about CIA operations, personnel, and methods. In return, he received $50,000 in cash, with promises of additional payments.