A U.S. State Department report raises concerns that espionage will increase during the U.S.-Israel war with Iran and ceasefire talks.
According to US media, the Pentagon’s intelligence service has raised the threat level over Israeli espionage from ‘high’ to ‘severe’ in recent weeks.
NBC News first broke the news of the change on Friday, and the New York Times published its own report the following day.
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News outlets, citing anonymous sources, said the shift was made in light of growing concerns about increasingly aggressive tactics in connection with the U.S.-Israel war with Iran.
They said the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) had raised its alert level due to concerns about Israel’s increasing attempts to spy on senior U.S. officials. It is said that the purpose was to understand the White House’s internal deliberations on ending the war.
US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu have publicly differed in their approach to the war that started between the US and Israel on February 28.
Meanwhile, Trump has repeatedly said he wants to end the war amid mounting political pressure at home.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Netanyahu called for a resumption of war despite the April 8 ceasefire. Fighting has largely stopped since a temporary ceasefire was announced, but efforts to reach a lasting agreement have repeatedly stalled.
The New York Times reported that while Israel is known to spy on the United States, the DIA noted increased activity starting in late 2024 as U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration increased pressure on Israel over its genocidal war in Gaza.
This increase continued into 2025 as Trump returned to the presidency and began to consider how to approach Iran.
The newspaper added that other recent intelligence assessments have also documented evidence that Israel attempted to spy on President Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, as well as top Pentagon policy official Elbridge Colby and his deputy, Michael Dimino IV.
Witkoff was the chief negotiator in the nuclear talks that preceded the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran in February.
NBC News and The New York Times cited unnamed U.S. officials in their reports. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.
However, unnamed spokespeople for both media outlets said the reports were ‘false’.
Nonetheless, the reported concerns are likely to raise questions about the close intelligence and military cooperation between Israel and the United States.
Washington has provided billions of dollars in military aid and arms sales to Israel for years, including during the genocide in Gaza.
The U.S. Congress is currently debating parts of a new defense bill that would integrate the two countries’ weapons research and development to an unprecedented degree.
The United States and its allies are known to regularly conduct intelligence operations against each other, but officials told NBC and The New York Times that Israel’s recent exuberance is unique.
The New York Times reported that the increased DIA designation would surpass all of its current allies, as well as a handful of countries with more difficult relationships.
Recent incidents include attempts by Israeli military intelligence to plant listening devices at DIA headquarters in 2021, according to the newspaper.
According to the report, in 2025, Israel’s domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet attempted to install a similar device on a Secret Service vehicle.
