Several sources indicate that the Trump administration’s Defense Department is worried that Israel may be spying on the U.S., particularly regarding talks aimed at resolving the conflict with Iran.
The Pentagon is reportedly intensifying its measures in response to these spying allegations, having recently labeled the counterintelligence threat from Israel as ‘severe’, according to NBC News. Three anonymous former and current U.S. officials shared these insights on Friday. U.S. intelligence has suggested that Israel attempted to intercept communications from high-ranking U.S. officials, including Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who is deeply involved in the Iran peace negotiations, as reported by the New York Times.
The White House has strongly rejected these claims. In contrast, the Pentagon chose not to respond to inquiries from both NBC News and the New York Times.
A White House representative stated to NBC News: “This entire story is fabrication and comes from an uninformed source.”
In a similar vein, an Israeli embassy spokesperson in Washington denied the allegations, asserting that “Israel does not gather information on U.S. entities, much less on U.S. government representatives,” calling the claim “totally untrue.”
Some anonymous U.S. military officials vaguely mentioned to the New York Times that service members are now particularly vigilant about securing their devices while traveling in Israel.
Requests for comments from both the White House and the Department of the Army went unanswered.
Joe Kent, the former Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, remarked that “Israel targeting senior U.S. officials is unacceptable to our government.” He shared his views on X in reaction to the media stories.
Kent, who resigned in opposition to the Iran conflict, further stated: “This is not common practice, especially as Israel relies heavily on our defense funding and diplomatic backing.” He believes Israel will continue to treat the U.S. like a “fool” unless they actually reduce the support provided to them.
He also contended that Israel coerced the U.S. into participating in the ongoing conflict, despite the belief that Iran does not pose an “imminent” threat, as suggested by the government rationale for the war.
A report from early April mentioned that Israeli officials had encouraged the Trump administration to engage in military action against Iran, backing it up with an attack strategy presented in a secret White House meeting that was met with swift disapproval from several Cabinet members. The U.S. and Israeli forces initiated a combined operation against Iran on February 28, just 17 days after these consultations.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe criticized this strategy as a “travesty,” and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, known for his strong support of Israel, called it “nonsense.”
According to a recent New York Times article, both Israel and the U.S. have been aware of and tolerated each other’s espionage activities for a long time.
However, ex-CIA employee and whistleblower John Kiriakou disputed the notion of mutual spying, stating, “The Israelis have always been spying on the U.S.” He insisted that while the U.S. does not spy on Israel—due to political decisions by the White House and Congress—they do spy on nearly every other nation.
Kiriakou previously claimed that Israel had been banned from CIA headquarters after attempting to install listening devices there.
He stated on another platform that “we don’t let Israelis visit CIA headquarters because they consistently bring gifts that contain surveillance devices.” He emphasized the precautionary measures taken when receiving gifts from them.
In dialogues regarding foreign policy, Kiriakou mentioned that the U.S.’s increasing alignment with Israel’s agenda is causing rifts with traditional allies, such as Canada and the U.K. He expressed concern over the growing divergence in fundamental foreign policy beliefs and noted that this is leading to more strained relations.
