Pentagon Increases Threat Level of Israeli Spying

The Pentagon has increased the threat level of Israeli spying to “critical” amid concerns Israel’s spy agencies are eavesdropping on US negotiators as they work towards a peace deal with Iran.

According to The New York Times, “Israel and the United States have long known, and tolerated, that each was spying on the other. But an intensified Israeli effort to learn about U.S. positions in talks with Iran has crossed a line, according to some American officials.

“The reports include concerns that Israel has stepped up its 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 one of his main deputies, Michael P. DiMino IV.

“Another report, written by the Defense Intelligence Agency and other military intelligence offices and focused on earlier events going back several years, said that the counterintelligence threat level posed by Israel had been increased in recent weeks to the top level, from high to critical. The report, to which the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency contributed, outlines various efforts by Israel to spy on American military personnel and government officials.”

One official described Israel’s intelligence collection on top US officials as “unhinged.”

The warnings come despite military coordination between the US and Israel being closer than it has ever been, including the sharing of vast amounts of tactical and operational information between the two countries.

The move could to increase the threat level could complicate military panning and increase tensions between US and Israeli leadership. In recent weeks there have been signs of clear disagreements between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu over the course of the war and the conditions for peace.

The Defense Intelligence Agency drafted reports after officers in Israel became aware that spyware software had been installed on their phones.

The Times continues, “The report says counterintelligence incidents began increasing in late 2024, as the Biden administration pressed Israel to curb its attacks on Gaza, and continued into 2025, as the Trump administration weighed options to attack Iran.

“The report, which incorporated contributions from a number of military intelligence agencies, also details several episodes in recent years. In 2021, Israeli military intelligence officers were caught planting listening devices at D.I.A. headquarters. Last year, officers from Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic intelligence agency, were discovered to have tried to plant a listening device in a Secret Service vehicle.

“While the D.I.A. document does not explicitly discuss the peace negotiations, other recent intelligence reports have raised concern about Israelis’ listening to Mr. Witkoff and other top negotiators as they try to reach a long-term agreement for a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran.

“The tendency of some senior Trump administration officials to fly on private aircraft, to conduct national security business on their personal phones and to reject staffing from U.S. embassies abroad made them especially vulnerable targets for the spy services of allies and adversaries alike, said a former senior U.S. official who has dealt extensively with Israel.”

Two senior military officials told the Times that American personnel were well aware of the risks before the report was circulated.