By agency reports
Germany’s foreign intelligence service allegedly intercepted phone calls made by former U.S. President Barack Obama aboard Air Force One over a period of several years while he was in office, according to a report published by a German weekly magazine.
Citing intelligence officials, the report states that Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service exploited vulnerabilities in the encryption systems used on the presidential aircraft to monitor Obama’s communications, an activity that reportedly ceased in 2014.
The agency is said to have identified approximately twelve frequencies used for onboard presidential calls.
According to the account, only a single copy of the intercepted material was produced, with access restricted to the intelligence agency’s director, deputy director, and the relevant department head.
The recordings were later destroyed. The intelligence service reportedly acted without direct instruction from the German Chancellery, with information derived from the surveillance included only in broad analytical assessments concerning U.S. policy positions.
The revelations revive memories of a major diplomatic dispute between the United States and Germany in 2013, when it emerged that the U.S. National Security Agency had monitored the mobile phone of then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel for more than a decade.
Merkel famously responded at the time that “spying among close friends is unacceptable.”
Subsequent media reports indicated that Germany’s intelligence service had also recorded phone conversations involving former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
These interceptions were reportedly incidental, occurring during surveillance of suspected militants in the Middle East. German authorities later ordered the immediate termination of such activities and the destruction of the inadvertently recorded material.
However, the latest reporting suggests that the German Chancellery was unaware that the intelligence service had also monitored former President Obama.
A journalist involved in the investigation further claimed that Hillary Clinton and U.S. military officials were likewise subject to surveillance, though it remains unclear when the monitoring of Obama began or whether former President George W. Bush was also targeted.
The German intelligence service declined to comment in detail, stating that it does not generally disclose information about intelligence activities to the public.
The allegations could strain transatlantic intelligence cooperation at a time of heightened global security challenges.
Renewed scrutiny of intelligence oversight mechanisms in Germany may also prompt calls for stricter controls on surveillance involving allied leaders.
If confirmed, the reported monitoring underscores the depth of mistrust that can exist even among close allies and highlights the persistent tension between intelligence gathering and diplomatic norms.
The disclosures may reopen debates over acceptable boundaries in espionage within NATO and among Western partners.
