NYT: Israel allegedly targeted Witkoff, senior Pentagon officials in stepped-up spying effort
Israel’s embassy in Washington denied spying on US officials, while the White House rejected the earlier report and the Pentagon declined comment
The Pentagon has grown increasingly concerned over what US officials described as an intensified Israeli effort to gather intelligence on senior figures in the US administration of President Donald Trump, the New York Times reported Saturday.
The officials targeted by alleged Israeli espionage were those directly involved in Iran policy, including envoy Steve Witkoff and top Pentagon officials Elbridge Colby and Michael DiMino, according to the report.
The alleged campaign sought to learn Washington’s position in talks with Tehran, with one senior official going as far as describing the Israeli collection effort during President Donald Trump’s second term as “unhinged.”
The report said some officials may have been especially exposed because they used private planes, discussed sensitive business on personal phones and at times declined embassy support abroad.
The disclosures followed an earlier report that the Pentagon had raised Israel to the highest level on its counterintelligence threat scale, amid concern Israeli agencies were seeking information on internal US deliberations over Iran.
Israel’s embassy in Washington denied spying on US officials, while the White House rejected the earlier report and the Pentagon declined comment.