2026-06-06T19:15:48+00:00

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Shafaq News- Washington

Israel has intensified intelligence-gathering efforts
targeting US officials to obtain information about President Donald Trump’s
strategy in negotiations with Iran, the New York Times (NYT) reported on
Saturday.

Citing US officials and intelligence assessments, the NYT
described Israel’s intelligence activities as unusually aggressive, claiming
they exceeded those of any other US ally and, in some cases, even countries
considered US adversaries. The report indicated that Israeli intelligence
services stepped up efforts to monitor senior US officials, including President
Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff.

Meanwhile, NBC News reported growing concern within the US
Department of Defense over Israeli espionage activities targeting the United
States. Citing current and former US officials, NBC indicated that the Pentagon
recently raised its counterintelligence assessment of Israel to the highest
threat level, while the Defense Intelligence Agency issued a new review in
recent weeks amid mounting disagreements between Washington and Tel Aviv over
the war with Iran. According to US officials, an internal intelligence notice
classified the Israeli espionage threat as “critical.”

The reports recalled previous tensions over Israeli
espionage activities in the United States, including the case of former US Navy
intelligence analyst Jonathan Pollard, who served 30 years in prison after
being convicted of passing highly classified documents to Israel in the 1980s.

Additionally, the agency noted that the United States also
conducts intelligence operations against allies and partners. Leaks published
in 2013 by former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden revealed that US
agencies surveilled communications of several allied leaders, including
then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel, triggering diplomatic tensions with
Berlin.

Since the Iran-US ceasefire took effect in early April,
Trump has sought to secure a diplomatic agreement with Tehran to end the
conflict launched by Israel and the United States on February 28.

Read more: Trump’s balancing act with Iran tests diplomacy and deterrence