Edward Snowden. Photo: Wikipedia.

A fresh cache of documents provided by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden has revealed that the NSA considers twenty-three countries, including Spain, Turkey and Iceland,  as being closer intelligence partners than Israel, Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported Wednesday.

According to the Wall Street Journal, “Wednesday’s report in El Mundo cited a secret NSA document titled ‘Sharing computer network operations cryptologic information with foreign partners,’ which divides a list of countries that cooperate with the U.S. in intelligence matters into four groups.”

The document listed three tiers of cooperating countries, with Israel being in the lowest tier alongside countries such as France, Pakistan and India, El Mundo reported.

The first group is a top tier formed by Anglophone countries Australia, U.K., Canada and New Zealand, which are set apart by “their sacrifices and risks incurred in their alliance with the U.S,” The Wall Street Journal wrote, citing the El Mundo report.

According to the WSJ, “Spain and 18 other countries, most of them in Europe, are part of a second tier, viewed as trustworthy and friendly but potentially willing to gather intelligence against U.S. interests, El Mundo said. The group includes Iceland, Turkey, Japan and South Korea.”