Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Fox News Digital in an interview the United States now has a clear and defined military objective in Iran: dismantle the regime’s ability to strike Americans.

He said the U.S. mission is «to literally eliminate every single piece of military hardware that exists in Iran that can reach out and touch an American somewhere throughout the Middle East.»

«That is what we are conducting right now so that we do not get hit with something, a surface-to-surface missile or a surface-to-air missile or anything else, certainly with a nuclear tip, but with any other tip as well.»

Mast paid tribute to the three Americans killed in the operation. «These service members understood the hazards of their profession. They went out there, conducted their duty to defend the United States of America, and I could not be more proud than to thank them for their service, and I’m proud to be their brother in arms.»

He stressed that the scope and duration of the operation will be decided by the administration. «The ending of this militarily for the United States is on our terms,» he said.

Mast pushed back forcefully against claims that Israel dragged the United States into war with Iran, saying the Trump administration first pursued diplomacy and set a deadline before shifting to military action.

«Israel has not dragged the United States of America anywhere,» he said in the interview. «The United States, number one, started out with diplomatic negotiations with Iran to say, end your nuclear program, end your ballistic missile program and your support of these proxies that are continually attacking the United States of America.»

OMAR, SQUAD LASH OUT AT TRUMP IN RESPONSE TO IRAN STRIKE: ‘ILLEGAL REGIME CHANGE WAR’

The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford ,steams alongside USNS Laramie. (U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. 6th Fleet/Handout via Reuters)

«Everything is a part of that debate and that conversation. When should something be done? How should something be done? Obviously, the United States of America and President Trump, Secretary Hegseth, Secretary Rubio, our director of intelligence, our director of our CIA, John Ratcliffe, working to get all of the assets in place so that the negotiating tool of ending the literal threat of Iran, was a part of that.»

«It didn’t just happen on accident that we snapped our fingers and we had the Ford carrier group there, the Lincoln carrier group. That is something that took time,» he added. «Now, the diplomatic approach was the preferred approach. That’s why it began with that instead of beginning with a military strike. And what I can tell you about those negotiations, speaking directly to those individuals that I just mentioned, is that Iran came into this extremely egotistical, unwilling to really discuss anything relating to ending their nuclear program,» he said.

IRAN VOWS ‘DECISIVE’ SELF DEFENSE AT UN AFTER TRUMP KILLS SUPREME LEADER IN OPERATION EPIC FURY

Smoke rises over Tehran after the Israeli army launched a second wave of airstrikes on Feb. 28, 2026. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images)

«Even after the United States offered to fund nuclear materials for a civilian energy program if Iran agreed not to pursue weaponization, they didn’t want that. They didn’t wanna talk about ending their ballistic missile program.»

Looking ahead, Mast suggested the conflict could reshape Iran’s political future. He described the regime’s formal succession process, which «begins with this three-person body, ultimately moves to this 88-person assembly that would go out there and choose the next leader,» and noted potential contenders, including «the son of the Ayatollah, grandson of the ayatollah» and «a very hard-line cleric named Arafi, who’s very closely aligned with the IRGC.»

But he also raised the possibility of broader upheaval.

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Rep. Brian Mast on Capitol Hill, May 21, 2025. (Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters)

«That assumes that there is no uprising, where the people, the millions and millions of people across Iran, who have been just brutally tortured and suppressed, don’t decide that there is another path,» Mast said.

«We want to see a change, a turning of the page for what Iran has been undertaking.»

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El gendarme argentino Nahuel Gallo habría sido trasladado de la cárcel de El Rodeo, donde estuvo detenido de manera irregular 448 días en Venezuela. De todas formas, aún no hay confirmación oficial al respecto.

El suboficial había viajado en diciembre de 2024 con un objetivo personal: reencontrarse con su pareja, María Gómez, y con su hijo pequeño, que residían en Caracas. El traslado se realizó durante sus vacaciones y por vías legales.

Leé también: El Gobierno sigue de cerca la liberación de un grupo de presos en Venezuela y mantiene cautela por Nahuel Gallo

Según distintas fuentes nacionales y extranjeras, Nahuel Gallo habría sido trasladado del Rodeo 1 en la noche del sábado. Esto ocurre en medio de las liberaciones que se están dando por la Amnistía General aprobada por el Parlamento venezolano y de las presiones existentes para la liberación también de los detenidos extranjeros como Nahuel Gallo y Germán Chuliano. La información hasta momento es confusa.

De hecho, algunos presos gritaron que lo habían sacado de la cárcel. “Pero desconocemos su paradero. Seguimos buscando información verificada de adonde pudieron llevarlo, si a otra cárcel o si en efecto está en marcha una posible liberación”, expresaron a TN fuentes cercanas al gendarme.

Llama la atención el modus operandi en que se estaría dando este traslado, algo que no se había visto o no se había repetido en las últimas semanas. Por eso también el pedido de máxima cautela ante la información.

En ese contexto, el gobierno argentino abrió canales de diálogo vía Estados Unidos, Italia principalmente, pero también con instituciones y organizaciones con base en Venezuela para averiguar el paradero del gendarme argentino y de esa manera saber si este traslado es el paso previo a una liberación o es simplemente una maniobra dentro de las filas del chavismo.

Mientras crece la expectativa, María posteó un mensaje en su cuenta de X: “A esta hora no tenemos mayor información sobre el paradero de Nahuel Gallo, pero estamos esperando noticias positivas después de 448 días de injusticias. Nahuel debe ser liberado inmediatamente. Agradecemos a todos su preocupación. Lo que sepamos lo comunicaremos por esta vía”.

Leé también: Empezaron las obras de remodelación del Helicoide, el mayor centro de detención y torturas de Venezuela

La semana pasada, Gallo se comunicó por primera vez con Gómez. “Después de 445 días me volvió el alma al cuerpo. Nahuel me llamó, Nahuel llamó para decirme que seguía fuerte. Que nos necesitaba fuertes. Lo queremos LIBRE, necesita estar con su familia”, expresó la mujer en X.

El gobierno de Javier Milei recibió como una buena señal el llamado telefónico y espera ahora novedades para su liberación. “Hay que esperar. Falta un poco”, dijo a TN una fuente del ministerio de Seguridad.

Cómo fue la detención de Nahuel Gallo en Venezuela

Gallo había salido el 8 de diciembre desde Mendoza y al día siguiente entró a territorio venezolano. En un control fronterizo fue retenido por autoridades locales, que lo vincularon sin pruebas a tareas de inteligencia.

Desde ese momento, se perdió todo contacto formal. La familia denunció la falta de información sobre su paradero y el Ejecutivo argentino calificó el hecho como una desaparición forzada, al no existir notificación judicial ni acceso consular.

Con el correr de los meses se confirmó que Gallo fue trasladado a El Rodeo I, un establecimiento de máxima seguridad ubicado en las afueras de Caracas, hoy conocido como CESMAS. Diversas organizaciones internacionales señalan que el penal funciona bajo lógica militar y responde a la órbita de la contrainteligencia venezolana.

En ese centro se alojan opositores, militares acusados de conspiración y ciudadanos extranjeros considerados “sensibles” por el régimen, muchos de ellos sin causas judiciales claras ni posibilidad de defensa legal.

Noticia que está siendo actualizada.-

Most congressional precedents emanate from Capitol Hill.

Most presidential precedents emerge from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

But a precedent which may echo around the halls of Congress and the White House for years materialized in recent days in the snow-covered, wooded village of Chappaqua, New York.

That’s where former President Bill Clinton testified under subpoena to the House Oversight Committee as part of its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. Lawmakers said the panel’s ability to compel testimony from a former president could establish a new precedent going forward — including in matters involving President Trump and the Epstein files.

According to congressional historians, never before has a congressional committee deposed a former president. It was rare enough to have former First Lady and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testify the day before. Republicans noted that former President Clinton had previously acknowledged knowing Epstein and traveling on trips that included him.

«I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein. I never flew on his plane or visited his island, homes or offices,» said Hillary Clinton after nearly six hours of closed-door testimony before the panel.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said Hillary Clinton declared «‘You’ll have to ask my husband,’» more than «a dozen» times during her deposition ahead of Bill Clinton’s the following day.

There are no accusations of wrongdoing against either of the Clintons in connection with Epstein. But the former president’s past ties to Jeffrey Epstein have spurred questions from lawmakers.

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«It’s very difficult to get people in for these depositions of great power and great wealth,» said Comer. «It took seven months, seven months to get the Clintons in here. But we’ve got them in here.»

«Here» was Chappaqua, about an hour north of New York City. The Clintons have resided in Chappaqua since President Clinton left office in 2001 and when Hillary Clinton ran for Senate from New York in 2000. Hillary Clinton served as a senator from New York from 2001 until 2009, when she became President Obama’s first Secretary of State.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton speaks during the 2025 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) in New York City, U.S., September 24, 2025.  (Kylie Cooper/Reuters)

More specifically, the «here» for the Clintons’ testimony was not a bland office in the Rayburn House Office Building. House members questioned the Clintons at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center, known locally as «ChappPAC,» a white structure with simple arcades and Greek columns atop a hillside above the Saw Mill River.

The Epstein inquiry is serious, and the unusual venue underscored the extraordinary nature of the proceeding.

Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., appeared to snap a photo of Hillary Clinton during the deposition, then shared it with conservative media outlets.

«I admire (Hillary Clinton’s) blue suit. So I wanted to capture that for everyone,» said Boebert outside the venue.

«Why did you send the picture?» asked a reporter.

«Why not?» retorted Boebert.

«We are sitting through an incredibly unserious, clown show of a deposition, where Members of Congress and the Republican Party are more concerned about getting their photo op of Secretary Clinton than actually getting to the truth and actually holding anyone accountable,» charged Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz.

BILL CLINTON SAYS HE DIDN’T KNOW WOMAN IN INFAMOUS JACUZZI PHOTO DURING CLOSED-DOOR EPSTEIN TESTIMONY

After concluding her testimony, Hillary Clinton told reporters she found the «end» of the deposition to be «quite unusual because I started being asked about UFOs and a series of questions about Pizzagate, one of the most vile, bogus conspiracy theories that was propagated on the internet.»

That is a reference to a conspiracy theory that emerged during the 2016 presidential campaign between Hillary Clinton and President Trump. Proponents falsely claimed Democrats operated a child sex trafficking ring out of the Comet Ping Pong pizza shop in Washington. A North Carolina man later drove to Washington, D.C., and fired shots inside the restaurant, telling authorities he was there to rescue children.

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-N.C., asserted that Hillary Clinton was «screaming» at lawmakers during the deposition.

«She was unhinged,» said Mace. «And I hope that President Clinton is less unhinged today than his wife was yesterday.»

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., emerged from the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center about 90 minutes into former President Clinton’s deposition to speculate about what may have been behind Epstein and his sex trafficking operation. Luna noted she was speaking only for herself and not other members of the committee.

Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton (L) and former President Bill Clinton arrive on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2017 in Washington, DC. In today’s inauguration ceremony Donald J. Trump becomes the 45th president of the United States.  (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

«It has become very evident even in the last 24 hours in lines of questioning that Jeffrey Epstein was running an intelligence gathering operation,» said Luna. «I do believe it was a honey pot operation.»

Luna added that it was possible a U.S. intelligence ally was involved, though she provided no evidence for the claim.

One of the five agreed-upon areas of questioning for the Clintons was how Epstein used his connections with powerful figures to hide his crimes. That is why individuals such as former President Clinton and President Trump have surfaced in previously released Epstein-related documents.

The presidency is a unique office, and even President Trump expressed some sympathy for Bill Clinton’s appearance before the Oversight Committee.

«I don’t like seeing him deposed. But they certainly went after me a lot more than that,» said the president.

When pressed on Friday, President Trump said he was unfamiliar with the Epstein files.

«I don’t know anything about the Epstein files. I’ve been totally exonerated,» said President Trump.

Oversight Committee Republicans were asked whether they agreed with that claim.

«From all the evidence I’ve seen he’s been exonerated for a long time,» replied Comer.

«The Epstein victims have exonerated President Trump. This is a trope that you guys are — a rabbit hole you guys are going down. But he’s been exonerated over and over again by Epstein victims,» said Mace.

But Democrats questioned why the committee sought testimony from former President Clinton and not President Trump.

«There is a lot of email correspondence that included President Clinton,» said Comer.

Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the Oversight panel, argued the move set a broader standard.

«There’s a precedent now,» said Garcia. «We now want President Trump to come in and to testify under oath in front of the Oversight Committee. We want the First Lady, who we know had a relationship as well with Jeffrey Epstein, to come under oath and testify to the Oversight Committee. That is the new precedent that Republicans wanted to set here.»

Garcia added that President Trump «has not been exonerated, and we have serious questions for President Trump.»

Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., argued that the committee spoke «to the wrong president.»

It is unclear whether the panel will seek testimony from President Trump. Democrats have indicated they would consider doing so if they gain control of the House in the fall midterm elections.

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Separation of powers is a key component of America’s constitutional system. Only a handful of presidents have ever testified before Congress — and none had previously been deposed as a former president.

The nation’s history includes small communities that have taken on outsized political significance. Lawmakers and legal observers say Chappaqua could now join that list if presidential testimony before Congress becomes more common.

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