Colombian Authorities Deport Two Hezbollah Operatives

Colombian Defense Minister Diego Molano (Reuters)
Colombian Defense Minister Diego Molano (Reuters)
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Colombian Authorities Deport Two Hezbollah Operatives

Colombian Defense Minister Diego Molano (Reuters)
Colombian Defense Minister Diego Molano (Reuters)

The Colombian authorities arrested and deported two members of the Lebanese Hezbollah who were spying on US and Israeli diplomats.

The Colombian Defense Minister Diego Molano said that the Hezbollah operatives attempted to carry out attacks against Israeli and US targets in Colombia.

Israeli intelligence (Mossad) confirmed that Hezbollah sent its agents to Bogota to carry out operations in retaliation for the assassination of Qasim Soleimani, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force commander.

Soleimani was killed in an airstrike in early 2020 carried out by a US drone near Baghdad International Airport.

In the wake of the assassination, Iran warned that US bases, ships, and forces would be potential targets for a response.

In turn, Hezbollah threatened, in the wake of Soleimani's assassination, to expel all US from the Middle East.

Earlier this year, Hezbollah Sec-Gen Hassan Nasrallah said Iran "does not need help" from its allies and would retaliate "when it decides so."

Nasrallah added that Tehran would not ask any other country or body to conduct a retaliatory strike on its behalf, stressing that Iran is a "strong country and will decide when and how to react.

"It does not need to rely on others."

Iran also threatened to attack Israel in retaliation for killing a prominent nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.



No Known Intelligence that Iran Moved Uranium, US Defense Chief Says

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force General Dan Caine, speak during a press conference at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, US, June 26, 2025. REUTERS/Idrees Ali
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force General Dan Caine, speak during a press conference at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, US, June 26, 2025. REUTERS/Idrees Ali
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No Known Intelligence that Iran Moved Uranium, US Defense Chief Says

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force General Dan Caine, speak during a press conference at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, US, June 26, 2025. REUTERS/Idrees Ali
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force General Dan Caine, speak during a press conference at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, US, June 26, 2025. REUTERS/Idrees Ali

US defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday said he was unaware of any intelligence suggesting Iran had moved any of its highly enriched uranium to shield it from US strikes on Iran's nuclear program over the weekend.

"I'm not aware of any intelligence that I've reviewed that says things were not where they were supposed to be, moved or otherwise," Hegseth said, Reuters reported.

After the strikes, several experts also cautioned that Iran likely moved a stockpile of near weapons-grade highly enriched uranium out of Fordow before the strike early Sunday morning and could be hiding it and other nuclear components in locations unknown to Israel, the US and UN nuclear inspectors.

They noted satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies showing "unusual activity" at Fordow on Thursday and Friday, with a long line of vehicles waiting outside an entrance to the facility. A senior Iranian source told Reuters on Sunday most of the near weapons-grade 60% highly enriched uranium had been moved to an undisclosed location before the US attack. Hegseth's comments denying those claims came at a news briefing where he accused the media of downplaying the success of US strikes on Iran's nuclear program following a leaked, preliminary assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency suggesting they may have only set back Iran by months.

Hegseth said the assessment was low confidence, and, citing comments from CIA Director John Ratcliffe, said it had been overtaken by intelligence showing Iran's nuclear program was severely damaged by recent US strikes, and that it would take years to rebuild.