White House, Israeli Embassy Reject New York Times Report That Israel Is Spying on US Officials
By The Media Line Staff
The Israeli Embassy in Washington and the White House have rejected a New York Times report alleging that the Pentagon raised counterintelligence concerns about Israel.
An Israeli Embassy spokesperson described the allegation that Israel spies on the United States as “completely false.”
“Israel does not gather intelligence on American entities, let alone US government officials,” the spokesperson said. “Israel intelligence collection efforts are aimed at its enemies, not its allies. Any claims to the contrary are either misinformed or politically motivated.”
A White House official also disputed the report, stating: “This entire story is false and sourced to someone who doesn’t have any knowledge of what’s going on.”
The responses followed a New York Times article citing a prior NBC report that Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency recently elevated its counterintelligence assessment of Israel to the highest category, “critical.”
According to the report, the assessment was communicated internally in recent weeks and reflected concerns that Israeli intelligence services could be seeking access to confidential US deliberations related to conflicts in the Middle East.
Those who were allegedly surveilled included Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s top negotiator, Elbridge A. Colby, the Pentagon’s top policy official, and one of his main deputies, Michael P. DiMino IV, and others.
The report said Pentagon officials were concerned that sensitive information not intended for sharing could be obtained by Israeli intelligence, despite the close alliance between the two countries.
One official cited by The New York Times said the internal assessment rated Israel’s capabilities in both human espionage and technical intelligence collection at a “critical level.”
The report also said the document cited several incidents that contributed to the heightened assessment, though no details about them were disclosed.
The Pentagon declined to comment on the report.
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