Israel Exposed for Increasing Surveillance on U.S. Officials
Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, June 7 - Recently, multiple U.S. media outlets have revealed that Israel is intensifying its surveillance of senior U.S. officials to obtain first-hand intelligence regarding U.S.-Iran negotiations, prompting the Pentagon to enhance its precautions.
On June 6, NBC News reported, citing several U.S. officials, that Israel is attempting to gather intelligence through espionage on "internal discussions and decisions of the Trump administration regarding the Middle East conflict." As a result, in recent weeks, the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency has raised the level of the espionage threat posed by Israel from "high" to the highest level of "serious." One U.S. official told NBC that while it is not uncommon for allies to spy on each other, Israel's recent actions "far exceed normal bounds."
The New York Times also reported that the targets of Israel's surveillance efforts include U.S. presidential envoy Steven Mnuchin and Deputy Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby.
A spokesperson for the Israeli embassy in the U.S. stated that the claims regarding Israeli espionage activities against the U.S. are "utter nonsense."
The conflict with Iran was initiated by a joint effort between the U.S. and Israel, but the two countries currently have differing strategic objectives regarding the Iranian conflict and regional situation. The U.S. wants to negotiate a ceasefire with Iran and open the Strait of Hormuz, while Israel views Iran as a "survival threat" and opposes a "loose agreement" between the U.S. and Iran. Recently, Israel escalated its military operations against Lebanon, provoking strong dissatisfaction from President Trump, who referred to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu as "crazy" during a phone call. (Guo Qian)
Israel is increasing its surveillance on U.S. senior officials to gather intelligence on U.S.-Iran negotiations. The Pentagon has raised the counterintelligence threat level to severe due to these activities. Targets include U.S. officials involved in Middle East policy, although Israel denies these espionage claims.
- Israel is increasing surveillance on U.S. officials.
- The Pentagon has raised the counterintelligence threat level from high to severe.
- Targets of Israeli surveillance include U.S. officials involved in Middle East policy.
- Israel denies the allegations of espionage.