A 42-year-old CIA contractor with top-secret security clearance was arrested Friday on suspicion of leaking highly classified American intelligence documents to a journalist, including sensitive reports concerning Israel’s military plans against Iran and warnings of potential internal instability ahead of Tuesday’s Knesset elections.

The suspect, identified as Ian Brinksman of Washington, allegedly exploited his access to classified intelligence systems to obtain reports unrelated to his official responsibilities and secretly pass their contents to journalist Aida Chavez.

According to investigators, the leaked intelligence formed the basis of five published articles, three of which dealt directly with Israel.

One of the most sensitive disclosures concerned a May 28 intelligence report alleging that Israel had privately urged the Trump administration to assassinate Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament.

The same report claimed that Israeli officials had also pressed Washington to resume military strikes against Iran’s oil infrastructure.

Another leaked assessment, published in July, reportedly examined Israel’s efforts to strengthen its involvement in American defense and industrial systems amid concerns that public support for Israel in the United States could weaken after President Donald Trump leaves office.

A third disclosure, published in October, involved an assessment prepared by the CIA’s Red Cell unit, which examines unconventional scenarios and potential future threats.

The report, titled “Fracture From Within,” reportedly warned that Israel could face severe internal instability, including the possibility of civil conflict and the weakening of state institutions.

The assessment identified several potential sources of instability, including Israel’s political divisions, the ongoing dispute over the military draft of Chareidi yeshiva bochurim, and concerns involving armed military veterans suffering from psychological trauma.

The report was presented as an intelligence assessment of possible risks, not as a prediction that civil war would occur.

Other classified documents allegedly leaked by Brinksman concerned Jordan’s involvement in suppressing demonstrations in Bahrain and disagreements among Gulf countries regarding military strikes against Iran.

According to an FBI affidavit, Brinksman worked inside a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, or SCIF, where employees are prohibited from bringing cellular phones.

Investigators allege that he repeatedly accessed classified documents, left the secure facility, and then contacted Chavez from his vehicle.

Federal agents compared his access records with more than 800 telephone conversations between the two during 2026.

In numerous instances, investigators found that Brinksman had reviewed sensitive intelligence material shortly before engaging in lengthy conversations with the journalist.

Authorities also reportedly discovered a notebook containing torn-out pages, which investigators suspect was used to remove quotations or notes from classified documents.

An email from November 2025 allegedly showed Brinksman telling a friend that he was helping his partner establish her independent journalism operation.

Chavez, who previously worked for American left-leaning media organizations, has not been charged in connection with the investigation.

Brinksman faces allegations of unlawfully transmitting national defense information under the Espionage Act.

Senior American intelligence and law enforcement officials condemned the alleged disclosures, warning that unauthorized publication of classified intelligence can endanger intelligence sources, personnel, and ongoing operations.

John Eisenberg, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, accused Brinksman of deliberately exploiting his security clearance to obtain some of America’s most closely guarded secrets.

FBI Director Kash Patel pledged that authorities would pursue accountability, while CIA Director John Ratcliffe emphasized the agency’s zero-tolerance policy toward intelligence leaks.

In an unusual detail, Brinksman had previously participated in a 2019 Georgetown University research project examining how intelligence agencies could prevent insider threats and unauthorized disclosures.

(YWN’s Jerusalem desk is keeping you updated after tzeis ha’Shabbos in Israel)