A UK court sentenced a 23-year-old former British serviceman to 14 years in prison on Monday for espionage on behalf of Iran and for escaping custody before his trial, according to news agency AFP.
Daniel Khalife was convicted in November of charges related to espionage, terrorism offenses, and prison escape. At Woolwich Crown Court in southeast London, the judge handed down a 14-year prison term, with an additional three months for what was described as a “dangerous and fantastical plan” to pass classified information to Iranian intelligence in exchange for money.
Espionage Activities and Arrest
Khalife, who was born to an Iranian mother, gathered sensitive data over two and a half years while stationed in the UK and the United States. This included details about elite British special forces personnel before his arrest in 2023.
“The mere fact that you embarked on this dangerous and fantastical plan demonstrates your immaturity and lack of wisdom,” Justice Bobbie Cheema-Grubb remarked during sentencing.
Prosecutors argued that Khalife played a “cynical game” by contacting an Iranian intelligence associate after joining the British Army. His later offer to work as a double agent for British intelligence was dismissed by his defense as a clumsy and unrealistic attempt.
Dramatic Prison Escape and Capture
In September 2023, Khalife staged an escape from a London prison by hiding beneath a food delivery truck, sparking a three-day nationwide manhunt and exposing security weaknesses within the prison system.
Khalife, who joined the British Army at 16, had been stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, from February to April 2021, where he held near-maximum NATO security clearance—just below “cosmic top secret.” Evidence presented in court included a photograph of a handwritten list containing the names, ranks, and unit details of 15 soldiers.
The judge underscored the severity of Khalife’s actions, stating that the classified information “was undoubtedly valuable, and sharing it with an enemy state would have significantly increased the risks to those personnel and compromised their operational effectiveness.”
Reports revealed that Khalife maintained contact with Iranian handlers during his time in Texas, met with them in Turkey, and accepted payment on at least two occasions in exchange for sensitive information. The court concluded that he leveraged his Iranian heritage to establish credibility with his contacts, further deepening concerns over his betrayal of national security.
