Pentagon Flags Israeli Espionage on Senior US Officials as ‘Critical’ Threat
The Pentagon has raised the alarm over Israel’s increased spying activity against the US, labeling it as a “critical” threat, according to US media.
The warning comes amid escalating tensions between the longtime allies over tactics related to the wars in Iran and Lebanon.
Pentagon Assessment
According to NBC News and the New York Times, citing unnamed US officials, the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) raised the counterintelligence threat level for Israel from high to “critical.”
The new designation arises from the Pentagon‘s concerns that Israel is ramping up efforts to “surveil top US officials to get information on the Trump administration’s internal deliberations and decision-making on the conflicts in the Middle East,” according to an internal message cited by NBC.
Furthermore, the document noted that Israel’s ability to conduct human espionage and technical collection is at a “critical level.” It also identified a series of specific incidents that heightened US concerns.
Targets of Espionage
Although Israel has a long-standing reputation for aggressive intelligence gathering, even against its closest ally, officials told NBC that Israel’s recent spying efforts exceeded the levels of typical and expected espionage between allies.
According to the New York Times report, Israel has scaled up espionage on US President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who spearheaded nuclear talks with Iran before the war and took part in Hamas-Israel negotiations and Russia-Ukraine talks.
The report also noted that Israel has stepped up spying efforts on US Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby, and one of his deputies, Michael P. DiMino IV.
One senior official said that Israel’s intelligence gathering against top US officials during the second Trump administration is “unhinged.”
Disagreement over Iran War
The Pentagon alert comes as Washington and Tel Aviv are not in full agreement on the Middle East conflict, which broke out on February 28, 2026 after the US and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran.
Trump has been pushing for a diplomatic solution to end the war, following a fragile ceasefire deal in early April. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been pressing for a resumption of combat operations, voicing skepticism over Iran’s compliance with any negotiated deal.
On the Lebanon front, the two close allies also disagreed as Trump pressured Netanyahu to refrain from striking Beirut’s southern suburbs – the stronghold of Iranian-backed Hezbollah. US media reported that both leaders had a tense phone conversation, during which Trump called Netanyahu “crazy” and accused him of ingratitude.
Israeli Denial
Commenting on the espionage claims, the Israeli embassy in Washington rejected the NBC report as “completely false.”
“Israel does not gather intelligence on American entities, let alone US government officials. Israel intelligence collection efforts are aimed at its enemies, not its allies. Any claims to the contrary are either misinformed or politically motivated,” a spokesperson for the Israeli Embassy in Washington said in a statement.
Similarly, a White House official said in a statement that “this entire story is false and sourced to someone who doesn’t have any knowledge of what’s going on.”
Heightened Vigilance
Israel has a history of heightened spying activity, including in the US. In 2021, Israel’s military intelligence attempted to plant listening devices at the DIA headquarters, the New York Times reported. In 2025, Israel’s domestic intelligence agency, Shin Bet, was behind an attempt to plant a similar device in a Secret Service vehicle.
Following the Pentagon assessment, officials told NBC that the most likely outcome is that US officials will exercise heightened caution during travel to Israel and in meetings with Israeli counterparts.
“The US already takes extra precautions when visiting Israel. They’re well-known to aggressively collect,” one of the officials said. These measures include using burner phones and computers and taking extreme caution when speaking in hotel rooms during official trips.
However, the officials ruled out any impact on the daily high-level intelligence-sharing between the US and Israel, particularly in relation to the Iran war.
