Pentagon raised threat of Israeli spying on US to highest level, report says
WASHINGTON, DC: The Pentagon has reportedly elevated concerns about Israeli espionage against the United States to its highest internal threat category, reflecting growing worries among US defense and intelligence officials about alleged surveillance and intelligence-gathering activities by one of America's closest allies.
According to NBC News, the designation was made in recent months as part of a broader review of foreign intelligence threats facing the United States.
Report says Pentagon elevated Israeli espionage threat designation
Current and former US officials told NBC News that Israel was moved to the highest threat tier used by Pentagon counterintelligence officials to assess foreign spying risks.
The Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency in recent weeks issued the new counterintelligence threat assessment amid rising tensions between Israel and the US over the way forward in the war with Iran, the officials said.
They said the DIA posted an internal message, viewed by one of the current officials, that raised the level for Israel to “critical.”
The designation stems from concerns within the Pentagon that Israel is making a particular effort 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, the officials said.
While American and Israeli officials continue to cooperate closely on defense, counterterrorism and regional security matters, intelligence experts have long acknowledged that allies sometimes conduct espionage operations against one another.
The DIA assessment includes a seven-page document and features a chart, according to one of the current US officials.
The document says the assessment of Israel is that its ability to conduct human espionage and technical collection is at a ”critical level,” according to the official.
Neither the Pentagon nor Israeli officials publicly detailed the specific intelligence that led to the reported reassessment.
US-Israel alliance remains strong despite intelligence concerns
A White House official said in a statement, “This entire story is false and sourced to someone who doesn’t have any knowledge of what’s going on.”
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees all the US intelligence agencies including the DIA, did not respond to a request for comment by NBC News.
While it is commonplace for allies and adversaries across the globe to spy on each other, the current and former US officials said Israel’s recent efforts have gone well beyond what is typical and expected espionage.
The officials did not know if a specific incident triggered the DIA’s decision to raise the counterintelligence threat level.
The most practical outcome for the Pentagon is that US officials will use extra caution when traveling to Israel or visiting with Israeli officials, the current and former US officials said.
They said there did not appear to be any impact on the high-level intelligence-sharing that occurs on a daily basis between the two countries, particularly associated with the war in Iran.
“The US already takes extra precautions when visiting Israel,” one of the current US officials said. “They’re well-known to aggressively collect.”
Officials emphasized that the Pentagon routinely reviews and updates its threat assessments as new intelligence becomes available.
Israel has “a hyper-aggressive intelligence service,” said Emily Harding, vice president of the Defense and Security Department and director of the intelligence, national security and technology program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank in Washington.
“They are exceedingly interested in what we are up to,” Harding said of the Israelis.
While the reported classification highlights ongoing concerns within the defense establishment, it has not changed the broader strategic relationship between Washington and Jerusalem.
