Washington, Aug. 29 (Reuters): A Pentagon analyst suspected of passing classified information to Israel served as a US Air Force reservist in Israel, The Washington Post reported today.

The newspaper quoted a former colleague at the Defence Intelligence Agency who said the analyst may have been based at the US embassy in Tel Aviv, but was never permanently assigned there.

Quoting unnamed officials and others familiar with the inquiry, the Post said an FBI investigation had been broadened in recent days to include interviews at the state and defence departments and with West Asian specialists outside government.

Officials at the justice and defence departments declined comment on the report.

US government sources said on Friday the FBI is investigating whether the analyst gave classified documents to Israel via the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a powerful pro-Israel lobby in Washington.

Israeli officials denied the allegations yesterday and insisted Israel had not spied on the US since an espionage scandal involving US navy analyst Jonathan Pollard, who was arrested in 1985 outside the Israeli embassy.

The Post said the probe was focused on a career analyst at the Defence Intelligence Agency who specialises in Iran and had risen to the rank of colonel in the Air Force Reserve.

Early in the Bush administration, the analyst moved to the Pentagon’s policy branch headed by undersecretary Douglas Feith, where he continued his work on Iranian affairs, the newspaper said.

It was unclear whether the case would result in espionage charges or lesser charges such as the improper release of classified information or mishandling of government documents, the report said.