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Pentagon Report: Israel Spied on Trump Officials, Escalating Threat
🇵🇱 Poland /Conflict & Security

Pentagon Report: Israel Spied on Trump Officials, Escalating Threat

From Rzeczpospolita · () Polish

Translated from Polish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • A Pentagon report indicates Israel spied on Trump administration officials, escalating beyond previous tolerance.
  • Israeli intelligence intensified efforts to learn U.S. positions on Iran negotiations, particularly during the Trump era.
  • The report elevated the counterintelligence threat from Israel to "critical," citing intercepted communications and surveillance attempts.

Israel allegedly spied on Trump administration officials, according to a Pentagon report cited by The New York Times. While a degree of mutual spying between the U.S. and Israel was known and tolerated, Israeli actions intensified to uncover American stances on Iran negotiations, crossing perceived boundaries. This escalation occurred as the Biden administration pressed Israel on Gaza operations and continued into the Trump administration's deliberations on Iran. The report highlights Israeli intelligence's focus on U.S. political calculations regarding Iran, rather than current military operations.

the number of counterintelligence incidents began to grow at the end of 2024, when the Biden administration was pressing Israel to limit operations in Gaza, and continued in 2025, when the Trump administration was considering options for an attack on Iran.

— The New York TimesThe article cites The New York Times reporting on the increased Israeli intelligence activities.

The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and other military bodies prepared a report that raised the counterintelligence threat assessment from Israel from "high" to "critical," the highest level on the U.S. scale. Officials suggest Israel now poses a greater counterintelligence challenge than most U.S. allies, comparable only to South Korea in certain instances. The report details incidents, including the discovery of communication interception software on phones and past attempts to install listening devices in U.S. government vehicles and facilities.

Israeli services intensified attempts to obtain information about the position of the Trump administration in talks concerning Iran.

— Sources familiar with intelligence reportsDescribing the specific focus of Israeli intelligence efforts.

This issue strains the U.S.-Israel alliance, which is currently characterized by close military cooperation. Officers from both nations work together within U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), and operational information is widely shared. However, differences have emerged between the Trump administration and the Netanyahu government concerning Iran policy, with Washington increasingly emphasizing military pressure while Tel Aviv has pursued different strategies.

The report raised the counterintelligence threat assessment from Israel from 'high' to 'critical,' the highest on the American scale.

— U.S. officialsExplaining the severity of the threat identified in the Pentagon report.
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Originally published by Rzeczpospolita in Polish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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