Pentagon Raises Israel's Counterintelligence Threat Level to Critical
The Defense Intelligence Agency elevated Israel's threat designation after concerns that Israeli intelligence operations targeted senior U.S. officials. Reports cited a seven-page assessment and specific surveillance efforts directed at policy discussions on Middle East conflicts.
democracynow.orgThe Defense Intelligence Agency raised Israel's counterintelligence threat level to its highest category following internal assessments that Israeli operations had intensified against U.S. government personnel. The assessment, described in a seven-page document with a chart, concluded that Israel's human espionage and technical collection capabilities reached a critical level.
Officials said the surveillance focused on obtaining details about U.S. decision-making regarding conflicts in the Middle East.
Named individuals in the reports included Steve Witkoff, Elbridge A. Colby, and Michael P. DiMino IV. The documents referenced specific recent incidents involving both human and electronic collection methods.
The Israeli embassy in Washington stated the reports were false and sourced from someone without knowledge of the situation. U.S. officials described the activities as exceeding routine intelligence practices between allies. Current and former officials told NBC News that the operations aimed to monitor internal U.S. deliberations on ending the Iran conflict.
