A C.I.A. official has been charged with disclosing classified documents that appeared to show Israel’s plans to retaliate against Iran for a missile attack earlier this year, according to court documents and people familiar with the matter.
The official, Asif W. Rahman, was indicted last week in federal court in Virginia with two counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information. He was arrested by the F.B.I. on Tuesday in Cambodia and brought to federal court in Guam to face charges.
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.
Mr. Rahman, who worked abroad for the C.I.A., was set to appear in Guam on Thursday.
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 C.I.A. declined to comment.
The F.B.I. acknowledged last month that it was investigating the leak, saying that it was “working closely with our partners in the Department of Defense and intelligence community.”
The bureau is responsible for investigating violations of the Espionage Act, which outlaws the unauthorized retention of defense-related information that could harm the United States or aid a foreign adversary.
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