A British soldier accused of spying for Iran before escaping from prison sent details about SAS and SBS personnel to his Iranian aides, a court has heard.
Daniel Khalife, 23, sparked a nationwide manhunt when he allegedly escaped from HMP Wandsworth by using sheets to tie himself to the bottom of a food delivery truck.
Khalife was being held in prison after being accused of betraying his country by allegedly passing secret material to Iranian intelligence services at the time of his escape on September 6, 2023.
A month after joining the army, Khalife allegedly contacted members of the Iranian security service using fake email addresses.
Prosecutors accused Khalife of using the army's system for booking annual leave to search for and access information on 15 people, including elite special forces troops, before passing it on to Iranian spy chiefs.
Daniel Khalife sparked a nationwide manhunt when he allegedly escaped from Wandsworth Prison for several days in September 2023
The 22-year-old was jailed on terrorism charges after allegedly planning a fake bomb hoax at his army barracks at MoD Stafford and being accused of passing material to Iranian intelligence services.
Woolwich Crown Court previously heard how the would-be spy was arrested after arranging to meet an Iranian “agent” in a park in Barnet, north London, where he was given a “bag of dog poo” worth £1,500.
Khalife, who received NATO's second-highest level of security clearance after joining the Royal Corps of Signals in 2019, was recaptured after three days on the run following his escape from prison, Woolwich Crown Court heard.
He later told police his spying was a “double bluff”, with jurors hearing he “flirted” with the idea of becoming a double agent, contacting MI6 in 2019 to say he wanted to work for the service, the jurors heard.
Prosecutor Mark Heywood KC today told jurors that Khalife gathered information while working at Stafford Barracks in the UK and when deployed to a military base in Texas.
Heywood said that on August 4, 2020 Khalife traveled to Istanbul on instructions from a handler called 'David Smith' on his phone, who told him to disguise the trip as a holiday.
He used Telegram to indicate he had left a package for his handlers, the court heard.
Heywood said Khalife's plan was to go from Türkiye to Iran, but he did not cross the border.
On August 28, 2020, he sent 'David Smith' a photo of a specialized military phone system and said he had access to a 'secret phone he could use to get information'.
He received a message from Smith saying 'we can work together for many years' and replied: 'I will definitely not leave the military until you tell me. Over 25 years.'
Khalife joined the army at age 17 before serving as a computer network engineer in the Royal Corps of Signals, the communications arm of the British Army.
Pictured is an archive image of an SAS soldier and his dog during an operation in the Middle East
He asked what sector the handlers were interested in and promised to help, the court heard.
Heywood said: 'The prosecution's case is that at this point, five months into his term, the material clearly shows that he had escalated his assistance to a point where he was actively engaged in securing confidence and delivering material which he himself knew perfectly well was in violation of the rules that applied to him.'
Khalife was offering to provide information “on demand for as long as they wanted,” My Heywood said.
“In September 2020, the first evidence emerged that Khalife took very specific steps to collect and record information regarding the Falcon system to which he had access as part of his role.
'The Falcon system, manufactured in the UK by BAE Systems, is a joint tactical trunk communications system for land use.
“In May 2021, Khalife was taking screenshots of open screens showing sensitive IP address details.”
From February to April 2021, Khalife was deployed to the Fort Hood military post in Texas.
While there, he began assembling a catalog of images and materials related to the Falcon system, Heywood said.
You have been given 'NATO SECRET' clearance – the second highest level of security clearance within the alliance.
On April 30, 2021, he returned to Stafford Barracks in the UK and his contact with Iranian handlers continued, jurors heard.
He was added to a group chat called 'Brew room boys', which he used to receive information, including details about British Army promotions.
Khalife's alleged escape from Wandsworth – which he denies – sparked a nationwide manhunt that lasted several days
In August 2021, he submitted a list of details of 15 soldiers, including their service number, rank and unit, including people from the SAS (Special Air Service) and SBS (Special Boat Service).
Khalife used the army system to book annual leave to search for and access information about other soldiers, the court heard.
In 2019, he contacted MI6 and said he had provided the Iranian government with a false document that he had left in a dog waste bag in Mill Hill Park.
British-born Khalife, whose mother is Iranian and father is Lebanese, joined the Royal Corps of Signals in February 2019 after completing basic university training.
Prosecutor Heywood said Khalife had been interested in “espionage” since he was 17.
He embarked on a plan to leak secrets almost as soon as he joined the Royal Corps of Signals, the court was told.
The defendant, raised in Kingston, south London, by his Iranian mother, allegedly began searching for intelligence-related material about MI5 in 2018, previously headed by jurors.
He denies committing an act prejudicial to the interests or security of the State by collecting information that could be useful to an enemy between May 1, 2019 and January 6, 2022, in violation of the Official Secrets Act 1911.
He also denies obtaining information about members of the HM military and a third 'bomb hoax offence', claiming he left three tin cans with wires on his desk in his accommodation at MOD Stafford, also known as Beacon Barracks, on 2 January 2023.
Khalife also denies escaping, contrary to common law.
The trial continues.
