U.S. Classified Israel as 'Critical' Spy Threat Amid Iran War Tensions (NBC) 

The Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency has raised its counterintelligence threat assessment of Israel to "critical," the highest possible designation, amid mounting concern that Jerusalem has been intensifying surveillance operations targeting senior Trump administration officials, NBC News reported Saturday. Israel called the report an outright lie. The White House said it was false.

The Pentagon has grown increasingly concerned about Israel ramping up its spying on the U.S., according to two current U.S. officials and one former official who spoke to NBC News.

The DIA issued the new counterintelligence threat assessment in recent weeks amid rising tensions between Israel and the U.S. over the way forward in the war with Iran. The designation stems from concerns within the Pentagon that Israel is making a particular effort to surveil top U.S. officials to obtain information on the Trump administration's internal deliberations and decision-making on the conflicts in the Middle East.

Among those reportedly targeted were U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, the Pentagon's top policy officer Elbridge Colby, and senior Defense Department official Michael DiMino. All three are central figures in U.S. deliberations over the Iran war and the nuclear negotiations with Tehran.

The DIA assessment spans a seven-page document and features a chart. It rates Israel's ability to conduct both human intelligence and technical collection at a "critical level."

The New York Times separately reported that the decision to raise the threat level came after U.S. personnel operating in Israel reported that software to tap their communications had been installed on their phones.

Flat Denials on All Sides

The report was met with swift, categorical rejections from both Jerusalem and Washington.

The Israeli Embassy in Washington said the allegations were "completely false," with a spokesperson stating that "Israel does not gather intelligence on American entities, let alone U.S. government officials. Israel's intelligence collection efforts are aimed at its enemies, not its allies."

A White House official dismissed the report entirely, saying "this entire story is false and sourced to someone who doesn't have any knowledge of what's going on." The Pentagon declined to comment.

The Backdrop: A Relationship Under Strain

The report lands at a moment of unusual tension between the two allies. President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu have clashed over the war with Iran and Israel's military operations in Lebanon, including in a tense phone call this past week. Trump afterward acknowledged to reporters that he had called Netanyahu "crazy" during the call, as questions mount about whether the two countries' objectives in the Middle East are beginning to significantly diverge.

While the reported classification highlights ongoing concerns within the defense establishment, it has not changed the broader strategic relationship between Washington and Jerusalem, according to current reporting.

The allegations are not without precedent. In 2025, the scale of alleged Israeli surveillance on U.S. service members at a U.S. military base in southern Israel had grown so extensive that U.S. Lt. Gen. Patrick Frank summoned an Israeli official and told them that "the recording has to stop here."

The report comes as U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations enter what diplomats describe as a critical phase, with the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's nuclear program, and the future of the ceasefire framework all on the table. For Israel, which has expressed deep concern about any deal that leaves Tehran's nuclear infrastructure intact, the stakes of Washington's internal deliberations could not be higher.