UK court jails ex-soldier for 14 years for spying for Iran

A 23-year-old ex-British serviceman received a 14-year prison sentence from a UK court on Monday for engaging in espionage activities for Iran and escaping custody prior to his trial, reported news agency AFP.
Daniel Khalife was convicted of espionage, terrorism offences and prison escape charges in November.
At Woolwich Crown Court in southeast London, the judge imposed a 14-year imprisonment term plus three months for executing what was described as a “dangerous and fantastical plan” involving the transfer of classified information to Iranian intelligence services for monetary gain.
The accused, born to an Iranian mother, collected sensitive data spanning two and a half years whilst stationed in the UK and United States, including identities of elite special forces members, before his arrest and subsequent charging in 2023.
“The mere fact that you started on this dangerous and fantastical plan demonstrates your immaturity and lack of wisdom,” Justice Bobbie Cheema-Grubb stated.
The prosecution alleged that Khalife engaged in a “cynical game”, establishing contact with an Iranian intelligence associate after enlisting in the British army.
His subsequent offer to British intelligence to serve as a double agent was described by his defence counsel as an inept attempt.
In September 2023, he orchestrated an escape from a London prison by concealing himself beneath a food delivery vehicle, triggering a three-day nationwide search and highlighting prison security vulnerabilities.
Khalife enlisted in the army in 2018 at age 16, having grown up in southwest London.
The judge concluded that Khalife certainly utilised his Iranian background to establish credibility with his contacts.
Evidence presented to jurors included a phone photograph showing Khalife’s handwritten roster of 15 soldiers, detailing their service numbers, ranks, initials, surnames and units.
The judge emphasised that the special forces personnel information was “undoubtedly valuable, and giving them to an enemy state would have very substantially increased the risk to them and to their operational effectiveness.”
Reports indicate Khalife maintained communication with Iranian handlers during his posting at Fort Hood, Texas, from February to April 2021, where he held near-maximum NATO security clearance, just below “cosmic top secret”.
Additionally, he conducted meetings with Iranian handlers in Turkey and twice accepted payment in exchange for information.