Ex-UK soldier Daniel Khalife sentenced to 14 years for spying for Iran

A former British soldier, Daniel Khalife, was sentenced to 14 years in prison by a UK court for spying for Iran, following a nationwide manhunt triggered by his escape before trial. A judge at Woolwich Crown Court in southeast London stated on Monday that the 23-year-old Khalife had carried out a "dangerous and fanciful scheme" to pass sensitive information to Iranian intelligence in exchange for money.

Khalife was convicted last November on charges of espionage and "terrorism," as well as for his 2023 prison escape. The former soldier, whose mother is Iranian, collected information over a two-and-a-half-year period, including the names of elite special forces personnel, while serving in the UK and the US, before being arrested and charged in 2023.

Judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb said, "The very fact that you embarked on this dangerous and fanciful scheme shows your immaturity and lack of wisdom." Prosecutors accused Khalife of playing a "cynical game," making contact with a person connected to Iranian intelligence after joining the British army. Khalife had claimed he was a patriot and had contacted MI6 and MI5 about his contact, stating he wanted to be a "double agent." He also stated that he and his family hated the Iranian government.

Khalife also admitted to escaping from Wandsworth Prison in London in September 2023 while awaiting trial on other charges. He strapped himself to the underside of a delivery van, sparking a nationwide search before being apprehended days later. The former soldier, who grew up in southwest London, joined the army in 2018 at the age of 16. Cheema-Grubb stated she had "no doubt" that Khalife exploited his Iranian heritage to gain the trust of his contact.

During the trial, jurors saw a photo on Khalife's phone of a handwritten list of 15 soldiers, including their service numbers, ranks, initials, surnames, and units. The judge stated that the details of the special forces personnel were "undoubtedly valuable and providing this information to a hostile state would greatly increase the risk to them and their operational effectiveness."

It is alleged that Khalife remained in contact with Iranian intelligence officers while deployed to Fort Hood in Texas, USA, between February and April 2021, during which time he had the second-highest level of security clearance within NATO, only below "Cosmic Top Secret". He also traveled to Turkey to meet with his Iranian intelligence contact and twice received cash in exchange for information. Khalife argued that the documents he passed to Iranian intelligence were either useless, publicly available, or created by himself.

His lawyer, Gul Nawaz Hussain, likened Khalife's capabilities and actions to "007 and Scooby Doo," and said he was not motivated by malice, greed, religious fanaticism, or ideological belief. "If he was a real spy, he wouldn't have acted in the way he did," Hussain said.