Just days before President Donald Trumps arrival in Tel Aviv, Israeli intelligence officials were shouting at their American counterparts in meetings, furious over news that the U.S. commander-in-chief may have compromised a vital source of information on the Islamic State and possibly Iran, according to a U.S. defense official in military planning.
To them, its horrifying, the official, who attended the meetings, told Foreign Policy. Their first question was: What is going on? What is this?
White House officials are touting Trumps visit to Israel next week as a chance to show U.S. solidarity with its closest Middle East ally after eight years of friction between former President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
But behind the public display of harmony, Israeli intelligence officers are angry and alarmed over sensitive information revealed by the U.S. president in a May 10 meeting in the White House with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
Trump divulged classified information gathered by Israel about specific terrorist plotting by the Islamic State. The information reportedly revealed Islamic State advances in bomb-making that could be used to mask an explosive device inside a laptop, and also referenced the city where the unfolding plot was being hatched.
The details Trump spilled likely came from a source that was also useful on Irans Revolutionary Guards and its Hezbollah proxies in Syria and Lebanon, which are much higher priorities for Israel, the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.
To the Israelis, ISIS is not that big of a concern, the defense official said. We have a partner that has done us a favor. They went out of their way to support us in a campaign against ISIS, that they have no real skin in.
In the first 48 hours after the news broke, the Israelis saw little engagement from the Trump administration on the issue. Instead, the administration remained focused on planning for the presidents visit next week.
Theres been no collaboration on this issue, or any outreach. But its like a PR circus, the official said.
The revelation that sensitive information may have been passed to Russia, a partner to Iran, was particularly concerning. Israel has become increasingly anxious about Russias military cooperation with Iran in support of the Syrian regime, and its growing cyber warfare capabilities.
In Israel, there is fear the compromise of intelligence could damage the countrys interests and even jeopardize lives, the official said.
The Trump administration, however, has denied any intelligence sources or methods were revealed in the presidents talks with the Russians. Trumps national security advisor, Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, said the counterterrorism information Trump shared was wholly appropriate.
While Israeli intelligence officials were aware of Trumps limited grasp of military operations and intelligence procedures, they didnt expect the inexperienced president to play fast and loose with one of their most sensitive of accesses, the defense official said.
If the source was lost, it also could affect a U.S.-led military operation to take back Raqqa with American-backed Syrian Kurdish and Arab forces, he said.
