The US Defense Intelligence Agency recently raised its internal counterintelligence assessment of Israel to “critical,” according to two current US officials and one former official cited by NBC News. The reported designation reflected concern that Israeli intelligence activity against US officials had become more aggressive amid disagreements over the conflict with Iran.
One current official said the DIA posted an internal message and accompanying seven-page assessment. The document reportedly rated Israel’s capacity for human espionage and technical collection at the critical level and listed incidents that contributed to the concern. The officials did not identify a single event that triggered the change.
Their account focused on suspected efforts to learn how the Trump administration was deliberating about Middle East military policy. Since an early-April ceasefire, President Donald Trump had pursued a diplomatic agreement with Iran, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pressed for renewed strikes and differed with Washington over operations involving Hezbollah in Lebanon, according to the report. That political context does not itself prove espionage.
Israel rejected the allegation. Its embassy in Washington said Israel does not collect intelligence on American organizations or officials and characterized contrary claims as false or politically motivated. A White House official also called the entire report false and challenged the sources’ knowledge. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not respond to NBC’s request for comment.
The current and former officials said the practical effect would be additional caution for US personnel traveling to Israel or meeting Israeli representatives. They did not see an interruption to high-level daily intelligence sharing, including cooperation related to the Iran war. The United States and Israel therefore remained close intelligence partners despite the reported internal warning.
Counterintelligence planning routinely covers allies as well as adversaries. The report notes that US officials have long regarded Israeli services as assertive collectors and sometimes use temporary devices and take extra precautions during visits. It also recalls that the United States has conducted surveillance against allies, including monitoring disclosed in 2013. Historical conduct provides context but does not verify the recent assessment.
The central claim depends on unnamed officials and an internal document not included in the supplied evidence. It is also directly denied by the Israeli government and White House. The report should consequently be understood as an attributed account of a DIA assessment, not an independently established finding that a specific spying operation occurred. Confirmation from the agency, release of the assessment or evidence tied to named incidents would be needed to resolve the competing statements.
