Pentagon Raises Israel Counter-Intelligence Threat Rating to Critical

The Pentagon has raised Israel's counter-intelligence threat rating to critical amid concerns that Israeli intelligence may be targeting senior U.S. officials, according to current and former officials cited by NBC News. Officials said the seven-page document described Israel's human and technical collection capabilities as operating at a critical level.

U.S. officials already take extra precautions when visiting Israel, including the use of burner phones and temporary computers. Former diplomats and intelligence officials said senior American personnel often avoid discussing sensitive matters in hotel rooms while in Israel.

The assessment did not cite any single triggering incident. Officials said intelligence-sharing between the two countries remains unaffected.

A spokesperson for the Israeli Embassy in Washington called the allegations completely false. The spokesperson said Israel does not gather intelligence on American entities or U.S. government officials. A White House official also rejected the report, describing it as false and sourced from individuals lacking knowledge of internal developments.

Since an April ceasefire, Trump has pursued diplomatic efforts with Iran while Netanyahu has questioned whether Tehran would honor any settlement. Axios reported that Trump and Netanyahu held a tense phone conversation in which Trump expressed anger over Israeli threats to renew air strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs.

Trump reportedly told Netanyahu that the developments were damaging Israel's standing. >"Everybody hates you now. No additional details on timing or scope of any potential Israeli response were provided.