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Pentagon raises threat
The New York Times reported that the Pentagon increased its counterintelligence threat assessment to its highest level, with Israel believed to have eavesdropped on American negotiations with Iran.
“Intelligence reports and testimony from American officials reveal concerns about Israeli espionage against senior officials in President Donald Trump's administration, including top negotiators in the ongoing talks with Iran”
The New York Times said the reports include concerns that Israel stepped up efforts to eavesdrop on senior American officials, including Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s top negotiator, Elbridge A. Colby, the Pentagon’s top policy official, and Michael P. DiMino IV.
The American Conservative said NBC News reported the Pentagon raised the counterintelligence threat level for Israel to "critical," the highest level, while the White House denied the reporting.
Shafaq News said the New York Times reported that Israel intensified intelligence-gathering efforts targeting US officials to obtain information about President Donald Trump's strategy in negotiations with Iran, and that an internal intelligence notice classified the Israeli espionage threat as "critical."
Israeli denials and officials
The Il Sole 24 ORE reported that the Israeli embassy in Washington dismissed the reports as "completely false" and said Israel does not conduct intelligence-gathering operations against the United States.
The New York Times said senior American officials believed Israel’s intensified effort to learn U.S. positions in talks with Iran had crossed a line, even as Israel and the United States have long known and tolerated each other spying.
The American Conservative said a senior official described Israeli intelligence collection efforts targeting the Trump administration as unusually aggressive, calling them “unhinged.”
Al-Jazeera Net reported that American officials told the newspaper that "Israel's espionage efforts to learn our positions in the talks with Iran have crossed the line of what is acceptable."
What it could change
Al-Jazeera Net said American officials warned that the increasing espionage could complicate efforts to expand military integration between the two sides and could push the Pentagon to impose new restrictions on the information it shares with Israeli officers.
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الوطن reported that the assessment warned rising espionage activity could impede deeper integration of military coordination between the U.S. and the Israeli militaries, especially if the Pentagon imposed additional restrictions on information sharing.
The New York Times described the timing as especially sensitive because Israel and the U.S. were fighting the war against Iran together with close military coordination at U.S. Central Command, including Israeli military officers working side-by-side with American counterparts.
The American Conservative said the reports came amid apparent tensions between President Donald Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the Iran War, and it cited Axios reporting that Trump, in a profanity-laced phone call on Monday, lashed out at Netanyahu for escalating Israel’s war in Lebanon.
