FILE- US President Donald Trump listens as Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during an arrival at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla. AP
A report written by the Pentagon's Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) said Israel's "ability to conduct human espionage and technical collection is at a 'critical level'," NBC News said, citing US officials.
The move followed concerns that Israel had been attempting to spy on top US officials to get information on "the Trump administration's internal deliberations and decision-making on the conflicts in the Middle East," the American network said.
The DIA report was drafted after incidents in which American defence personnel in Israel detected that surveillance software had been surreptitiously installed on their phones.
While the DIA assessment does not explicitly address the ongoing peace negotiations with Iran, The New York Times reported that other recent US intelligence findings have raised concerns about Israeli spy agencies eavesdropping on American negotiators seeking a long-term peace agreement with Tehran.
According to The New York Times, Israel has stepped up its efforts to eavesdrop on senior American officials, including 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.
Israel and the United States have long been aware that each side conducts intelligence operations against the other, and such activities have generally been tolerated. However, American officials told The New York Times that Israel's intensified efforts to obtain information about US positions in negotiations with Iran have crossed a line.
The reports emerge at a particularly sensitive moment, as Israel and the United States continue close military cooperation in their conflict with Iran. Despite unprecedented levels of military coordination, senior US officials said Israel is seeking deeper insight into Trump's strategy and evolving positions regarding peace talks with Tehran.
"The aggressiveness of the Israeli intelligence collection on top U.S. officials during the second Trump administration has been 'unhinged'," one senior official said.
Two senior US military officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal assessments, said American personnel, particularly those serving in Israel or working closely with Israeli counterparts, were already well aware of the counterintelligence risks before the latest report.
The officials added that US personnel employ a range of security procedures and protocols to protect cellphones and other electronic devices, especially while travelling in Israel, declining to provide details for security reasons.
The intelligence concerns come amid growing friction between Washington and Tel Aviv as Trump pursues a peace agreement with Iran, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushes for further military escalation against Iran and Lebanon.
Earlier this week, Axios and ABC News reported that Trump launched a profanity-laced telephone tirade at Netanyahu over Israeli threats to bomb the Lebanese capital, Beirut, fearing such actions would undermine negotiations with Tehran.
The incident highlighted increasingly strained relations between the two right-wing allies, both of whom face mounting political pressure linked to the war on Iran and criticism from domestic opponents who accuse them of being overly influenced by each other.
According to the DIA report, counterintelligence incidents involving Israel began increasing in late 2024 as the Biden administration pressured Israel to scale back military operations in Gaza. The incidents continued into 2025 as the Trump administration weighed military options against Iran.
In December 2025, Israeli operatives were reportedly conducting extensive surveillance of US forces and allied personnel stationed at the US-led Civil-Military Coordination Centre (CMCC) in southern Israel, according to sources briefed on disputes surrounding both overt and covert recordings of meetings and discussions.
The CMCC was set up in October to monitor the ceasefire, coordinate aid, and develop plans for Gaza’s future under Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to halt the war.
At that time, the scale of intelligence collection at the Civil-Military Coordination Centre prompted the base's commander, Lieutenant General Patrick Frank, to summon an Israeli counterpart and tell him that "recording has to stop here."
The report, which incorporated contributions from multiple US military intelligence agencies, also detailed several incidents from recent years. In 2021, Israeli military intelligence officers were allegedly caught planting listening devices at DIA headquarters. Last year, officers from Shin Bet, Israel's domestic intelligence agency, were reportedly discovered attempting to place a listening device inside a US Secret Service vehicle.
Officials warned that the latest counterintelligence assessment could complicate efforts to deepen military planning and operational coordination between US Central Command and Israel, particularly if the Pentagon decides to impose new restrictions on intelligence and information sharing with Israeli officers, according to The New York Times.
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