This comes amid growing tensions between the US and Israel over the conflicts in the Middle East
The Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) has elevated the threat posed by Israeli espionage to the highest level as tensions over Iran and Lebanon grow, NBC News and the New York Times reported on Saturday.
The assessment, which was circulated internally in recent weeks, includes a seven-page document and a chart rating Israel’s human and technical intelligence-gathering capabilities as “critical,” according to NBC.
The officials targeted included President Donald Trump’s top negotiator in talks with Iran, Steve Witkoff, the Pentagon’s top policy official Elbridge Colby, and one of his main deputies, Michael DiMino, according to the NYT.
US counterintelligence officials are increasingly concerned about Israeli spying activities targeting the US, including efforts to gain insight into the Trump administration’s deliberations on Iran and Lebanon, both NBC and the NYT wrote, citing sources. The assessment also reportedly cites several specific incidents, although the sources declined to identify them.
The aggressiveness with which Israeli spy services have surveilled top US officials since the start of Trump’s second term has been “unhinged,” the NYT cited a senior official as saying.
While espionage between allies is common, the report said Israel’s recent activities have gone beyond what would normally be expected, leading to the heightened threat assessment.
The Pentagon declined to comment. A White House official told NBC that the “entire story is false,” while a spokesperson for the Israeli Embassy in Washington dismissed the report as “politically motivated” and insisted that Israeli intelligence efforts “are aimed at its enemies, not its allies.”
This comes amid growing friction between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Iran and Israel’s military operations in Lebanon.
Despite the fragile US-Iran ceasefire reached in early April and extended on May 8, negotiations on a broader deal remain deadlocked over Iran’s nuclear program, with Israel publicly questioning Trump’s diplomatic push and Netanyahu advocating renewed military action.
At the same time, Israel has intensified operations in Lebanon, where it launched a military operation in March against the Iranian-aligned Hezbollah movement. Earlier this week, Trump acknowledged reports that he called Netanyahu “f**king crazy” during a heated phone conversation over Israel’s actions in Lebanon.
“I did,” Trump said when asked about the exchange on the New York Post’s ‘Pod Force One’ podcast. “I was a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon.”
Previous reports suggest that Trump accused Netanyahu of jeopardizing US negotiations with Iran by continuing the operation in Lebanon.
Trump said on Monday that both the Israeli leader and Hezbollah had agreed to a truce, and the US State Department announced on Wednesday that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to implement a ceasefire contingent on “a complete cessation” of Hezbollah attacks and the withdrawal of fighters from the South Litani Sector.
Despite the announcements, hostilities continued this week, with Israeli strikes in southern and eastern Lebanon killing and injuring dozens of civilians on Thursday, according to Lebanese health authorities. Iran previously said it would not agree to a permanent settlement with the US unless the deal also addresses Lebanon, and warned it would abandon negotiations if Israeli strikes continue.
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