US raises threat level for Israeli espionage to highest ever

The Pentagon has raised its estimates of Israeli espionage activity against the United States to the highest level in history, according to a Saturday report by NBC News citing two US officials.

The report claimed that the Pentagon has raised its counterintelligence threat assessment of Israel to the highest possible, with the main reason being tensions between Israeli and American officials over how to proceed in the war with Iran and its proxy terror groups.

According to the officials cited by NBC, an internal message issued by the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency reportedly raised the level for Israel to “critical."

The New York Times reported that US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, the Pentagon's top policy officer, Elbridge A. Colby, and one of the Defense Department's senior officials, Michael P. DiMino IV, were among those targeted.

The DIA assessment included a seven-page brief on the threat level and even featured charts, according to the NBC sources, while The New York Times reported that the decision to raise the threat level was taken after US personnel operating in Israel reported that software to tap their communications had been installed on their phones.

U.S. President Donald Trump points his finger towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they shake hands during a press conference after meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, US, December 29, 2025. (credit: JONATHAN ERNST/REUTERS)

Israel, US call report 'completely false'

The Israeli Embassy of Washington said in a statement that the information of espionage was "completely false," with a spokesperson adding that “Israel does not gather intelligence on American entities, let alone US government officials.”

“Israel's intelligence collection efforts are aimed at its enemies, not its allies. Any claims to the contrary are either misinformed or politically motivated,” the statement added.

The Pentagon declined to comment, while the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees the Pentagon's DIA, did not respond to NBC's request for comment.