The Pentagon has designated Israel at the highest counterintelligence threat level amid increasing concerns that the top Middle East ally is spying on US officials to gather information on Trump’s decision-making as it pertains to Iran, two US officials reportedly claim, according to NBC News.
An Israeli Embassy spokesperson denied that Israel spies on the United States, describing the notion as “completely false.”
“Israel does not gather intelligence on American entities, let alone US government officials. Israel intelligence collection efforts are aimed at its enemies, not its allies. Any claims to the contrary are either misinformed or politically motivated,” the spokesperson said.
The White House further denied the report, saying, “This entire story is false and sourced to someone who doesn’t have any knowledge of what’s going on.”
The report from NBC cites two unnamed US officials and one former US official and points to past instances of Israel and the US both spying on allies, including Jonathan Pollard, who spent 30 years in prison for selling US intelligence to Israel.
Hellbound and Down 