Beirut:
Hezbollah's leader said Friday that the Islamic militant group had captured three spies in its ranks, two of whom were allegedly recruited by the CIA to spy for Israel.
It was the first time the Iranian-backed group has claimed that it had been penetrated by spies, a rare acknowledgment of a security breach for an organization that has maintained a cohesive image. The U.S. Embassy in Beirut denied the allegation.
In his televised speech, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said CIA members at the embassy had recruited at least two Hezbollah members and the group was investigating whether the U.S. intelligence agency or another foreign agency recruited a third.
"We now have proof that this embassy is a spying nest and that some U.S. diplomats are intelligence officers penetrating and recruiting Lebanese society and Lebanese political factions," he said.
Nasrallah did not name the suspects, saying he wanted to protect their families "whom I know personally." All three confessed their actions to a Hezbollah "spy combat unit," he said.
The comments appeared to be an attempt to stop recent media speculation about cracks and infiltrations within the group's ranks. Nasrallah portrayed the capture of the three spies as a "real security achievement" and said the ruse was uncovered within months.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said he "would not dignify" the accusations with a comment.
The U.S. Embassy in Beirut said they had no substance. "These are the same kinds of empty accusations that we have heard repeatedly from Hezbollah," it said in a statement.
Nasrallah said none of the suspects had any sensitive information about the group that would jeopardize its abilities to fight in any future war, and he emphasized they were not part of his inner circle.
He said the development showed the Shiite group was facing a "new stage of security struggle."
Hezbollah and Israel fought a devastating, 34-day war in 2006 that that left 1,200 Lebanese and 160 Israelis dead.
Lebanon and Israel technically remain at war, and more than 100 people have been arrested in Lebanon since 2009 on suspicion of spying.
Amid a string of arrests last year, Nasrallah had bragged that the group was "immune" to being penetrated by intelligence agencies.
Nasrallah did not say how the three men were captured or give details of their current situation.
His accusations Friday come at a tumultuous time in the Middle East and illuminate how Hezbollah's web of allegiances and enemies touch on many of the region's most explosive conflicts.
"We had assumed that we were in security confrontation with the Israelis ... but to become a direct target for U.S. intelligence like this, this undoubtedly puts us in front of a new stage of security confrontation," Nasrallah said.