Overview
- U.S. news outlets, citing current and former officials, report that Pentagon counterintelligence assessments now rank Israel at the top threat level because of an uptick in spying targeting Washington political circles.
- Reporting identifies Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s chief Iran negotiator, as a central focus of the alleged collection efforts and says other senior U.S. Iran advisers were also targeted.
- The claims are drawn from media accounts that quote U.S. officials and intelligence assessments rather than from a public Pentagon statement, and Israeli diplomats have denied that Mossad runs clandestine operations in the United States.
- U.S. defense analysts told reporters the situation is described as “critical,” and Israeli officials worry that the new risk rating could prompt American agencies to withhold sensitive intelligence from their closest ally.
- The episode echoes disclosures from 2015 when Israeli operations around Iran talks strained U.S.-Israel ties, showing how intelligence frictions during Iran negotiations can produce diplomatic fallout and changes in sharing practices.