C.I.A. Official Charged in Leak of Classified Documents About Israeli Military Plans

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 on two counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information under the Espionage Act. He was arrested by the F.B.I. on Tuesday in Cambodia and was set to appear in federal court in Guam on Thursday.

The leak offered a glimpse into the depth of American concerns about Israel’s plans and illustrated the extent to which the United States spies on even its closest allies.

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, including the type of missiles, planes and other aircraft its military could use.

They began circulating last month on the Telegram app. U.S. officials have previously said that they did not know where the documents had been taken from, and that they were looking for the original source of the leak.

Officials had indicated that the documents were not exhaustive and showed only what analysts scrutinizing satellite imagery could glean at that moment in time.

Mr. Rahman worked abroad for the C.IA., and court documents said he held a top-secret security clearance with access to sensitive compartmented information, which is typical for many C.I.A. employees who handle classified materials.