Recent U.S. intelligence reports raised alarms about Israel spying on American officials to gain insight into the Trump administration’s approach to the Iran War, according to separate reports from the New York Times and NBC News.
The Times reported Saturday that U.S. intelligence offices discern an elevated threat of Israeli espionage operations targeting Steve Witkoff, the top American negotiator with Iran, Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s under secretary of defense for policy, and Michael DiMino, one of Colby’s top deputies.
Colby and DiMino are widely perceived to be part of an America First faction that is skeptical of military intervention in the Middle East, and the latter is in charge of the Defense Department’s policy for the region.
One report authored by the Defense Intelligence Agency was drafted after U.S. defense personnel said they had discovered spyware installed on their phones. A senior official described Israeli intelligence collection efforts targeting the Trump administration as unusually aggressive, calling them “unhinged.”
NBC News reported Friday that the Pentagon had raised the counterintelligence threat level for Israel to “critical,” the highest level. The White House denied the reporting.
The news reports come amid apparent tensions between President Donald Trump and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the Iran War. Axios reported that Trump, in a profanity-laced phone call on Monday, had lashed out at Netanyahu for escalating Israel’s war in Lebanon. Before the call, Iran had threatened to suspend peace negotiations with the U.S. over Israel’s military campaign.
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