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US official charged over leak of Israel plan to attack Iran

Getty Images An Israeli soldier inspects remains of a missile launched by Iran into Israel on 1 October. The large missile is lying in the desert, and the official stands in front of it with his back to the camera. Getty Images
An Israeli soldier inspects remains of a missile launched by Iran into Israel on 1 October

A US government official has been charged for allegedly leaking classified documents appearing to show Israeli plans for a retaliatory attack on Iran.

Israel carried out air strikes on Iran in October, targeting military sites in several regions, in response to the barrage of missiles launched by Tehran weeks earlier.

Leaked classified documents are said to have contained the US's assessment of the plans ahead of the attack, as well as the movements of Israeli military assets in preparation.

The official, Asif Rahman, was arrested in Cambodia on Tuesday and brought to federal court in Guam to face charges, according to the indictment, seen by US media.

Mr Rahman worked for the CIA abroad and held a top secret security clearance, the New York Times reported. He was due to appear in court on Thursday, charged with two counts of wilfully transmitting classified information.

The documents that Mr Rahman allegedly leaked were not stated in the court documents, but a source confirmed to the BBC's US partner, CBS News, that they related to the Israeli attack plans.

In October, two documents appearing to be attributed to the US National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, a Department of Defense agency, were published on an Iranian-aligned Telegram account.

The documents, marked top secret, were shareable between the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, made up of the US, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

The documents appeared to be based on satellite information obtained from 15-16 October.

The first was titled: "Israel: Air Force Continues Preparations for Strike on Iran and Conducts a Second Large-Force Employment Exercise." It described ballistic and air-to-surface missile handling.

The second was titled: "Israel: Defense Forces Continue Key Munitions Preparations and Covert UAV Activity Almost Certainly for a Strike on Iran." It discussed Israeli drone movements.

Israel carried out its retaliatory strike on Iran on 26 October, having spent weeks deciding how to respond to the missiles fired by Tehran on 1 October.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it targeted military sites in several regions, with subsequent reports suggesting an Iranian missile production site had been hit. One civilian and four soldiers were killed in the attacks, Iranian authorities said.

Iran initially launched around 180 ballistic missiles at Israel in response to the killings of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders.

The US Department of Justice has been contacted for comment.