Pentagon raises Israeli counterintelligence threat level to ‘critical’ over espionage concerns: Report | Today’s news
The Pentagon has raised its counterintelligence rating for Israel to the highest level amid concerns that the US ally has stepped up efforts to gather information on US officials, according to an NBC News report citing two current US officials and one former US official.
According to a news outlet, the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) recently issued a revised counterintelligence assessment that raised the Israeli threat designation to “critical.”
The report said the assessment was issued in recent weeks as tensions rose between Washington and Jerusalem over the future direction of the conflict involving Iran. The news outlet said the DIA had circulated an internal memo raising Israel’s threat level, which was seen by one of the current US officials familiar with the matter.
Concerns over surveillance of senior US officials
According to the newspaper, Pentagon officials are increasingly concerned that Israel is seeking information about the Trump administration’s internal discussions and decisions related to conflicts in the Middle East.
The report cited officials who said the designation was driven by concerns that Israel had stepped up surveillance efforts targeting senior U.S. officials in an effort to gain insight into Washington’s political thinking.
Rating details
According to NBC News, the DIA assessment consists of a seven-page document and includes a chart outlining the agency’s concerns.
Current and former officials cited by the report said Israeli intelligence activities went beyond what is generally considered routine espionage among allies, although they were not aware of any single event that directly triggered the decision to raise the threat level.
The White House denies the report
A White House official disputed the report’s claims.
“This whole story is false and comes from someone who has no knowledge of what’s going on,” the official said in a statement quoted by NBC News.
Tensions over Iran’s politics
The reassessment comes amid political disagreements between the United States and Israel over Iran.
Since a cease-fire went into effect in early April, President Donald Trump has been pursuing a diplomatic deal with Iran aimed at ending the conflict that began on February 28.
The report also said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has advocated renewed military action against Iran and disagrees with Trump’s calls to limit attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
