Is Israel ‘spying’ on US negotiators working on Iran deal?

US intelligence agencies have flagged Israeli intelligence operations targeting senior American officials involved in negotiations with Iran, according to reports from *NBC News* and *The New York Times*. The focus is on key figures like Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s top Iran negotiator, Elbridge A Colby, the Pentagon’s top policy official, and Michael P DiMino IV, one of Colby’s deputies. Officials say Israel’s efforts to monitor US positions in talks with Tehran have exceeded typical intelligence-sharing norms, raising counterintelligence risks. A Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) report, supported by the Security Agency, elevated Israel’s threat level from 'high' to 'critical,' citing incidents like the installation of surveillance software on US personnel’s phones in Israel. The report highlights concerns over Israel’s aggressive intelligence collection, which officials describe as 'unhinged' in its targeting of senior US officials during Trump’s renewed diplomatic push with Iran. Israel strongly denied the allegations, with its embassy in Washington calling the claims 'completely false' and stating it does not gather intelligence on US government officials. A White House official dismissed the reports as baseless, citing unnamed sources with no direct knowledge. Despite the denials, US officials—speaking anonymously—acknowledged that Israel’s espionage activities have historically been extensive, though the current scale is unprecedented among allies. The tensions come as the Trump administration pursues diplomatic engagement with Iran, while Israel opposes talks aimed at resolving the conflict. US military cooperation with Israel remains strong, but officials warn that Israel’s focus on US negotiating strategies poses a growing risk to national security. The counterintelligence warning underscores a strain in the otherwise close US-Israel security partnership.