The Israeli military disputes the claim that Iranian forces are present at Ali al-Taher.
By United with Israel Staff
Iran warned the United States that it would respond forcefully if Israel launched a major offensive against a strategic Hezbollah stronghold in southern Lebanon where Iranian military personnel are reportedly holed up alongside the terror group’s fighters, Reuters reported Thursday.
The warning centers on the Ali al-Taher Ridge, a mountainous area overlooking large swaths of southeastern Lebanon that has emerged as one of the most fiercely contested positions in the ongoing Israel-Hezbollah conflict.
According to Lebanese security sources cited by Reuters, Hezbollah has constructed an underground command center and weapons depots within the ridge, turning the strategically located high ground into a significant military stronghold.
Hezbollah has publicly declared that it controls the ridge and would confront any Israeli attempt to advance into the area. The IDF, meanwhile, has described Ali al-Taher as one of the main focuses of its operations against the terror group.
Two regional officials briefed by Tehran told Reuters that Iran conveyed its warning to Washington through Oman, which has served as an intermediary between the United States and the Islamic Republic.
According to the officials, more than a dozen members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including at least two senior officers, are alongside Hezbollah terrorists in the area.
A third foreign official with direct knowledge of the Iranian message said it was delivered around mid-August. The official claimed that U.S. pressure subsequently prompted Israel to postpone an operation to storm Ali al-Taher.
The White House, however, denied that Washington had pressured Israel to refrain from attacking the ridge. The IDF declined to comment on the Reuters report.
The Israeli military also reportedly disputes the claim that Iranian forces are present at Ali al-Taher.
Maariv, citing an Israeli military source, reported Thursday that the IDF assesses that there are no IRGC personnel on the ridge. Channel 12 similarly reported that the military was unaware of Iranian forces operating there.
Questions have also emerged over the condition of Hezbollah terrorists trapped within the ridge’s extensive underground infrastructure.
An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters in June that Hezbollah fighters were trapped underground without food or water.
Additionally, Maariv reported Thursday that, according to the Israeli military’s assessment, some Hezbollah terrorists trapped beneath Ali al-Taher had died after being left without food and water.
Israeli forces have continued intensive operations in the area aimed at systematically degrading Hezbollah’s military capabilities.
According to information obtained by Channel 12, Israeli forces have already dealt a significant blow to Hezbollah’s infrastructure on the ridge, destroying entire sections of the terror group’s underground network.
Some Hezbollah terrorists inside the underground compounds were killed as the infrastructure was blown up, while others managed to escape the tunnels during the fighting, the report said.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, said an Iranian warning to the United States would be a “natural conclusion” given the situation and threatened a major escalation if Israel launches a broad assault on the ridge.
The terror group warned that such an Israeli operation would mark the end of the ceasefire, trigger a return to full-scale war and lead to renewed missile fire against communities in northern Israel.
The competing accounts surrounding the reported Iranian presence come as Ali al-Taher increasingly emerges as a potential flashpoint not only between Israel and Hezbollah, but also between Israel and Iran.
Tehran has long provided Hezbollah with weapons, financing and military assistance, while the IRGC has played a central role in building the Lebanese terror group’s capabilities.
The confrontation over Ali al-Taher highlights the growing risk that Iran and Hezbollah could drag the region into an even wider conflict. With Tehran threatening a forceful response and Hezbollah warning it would resume missile attacks on northern Israel, an Israeli move against the strategic stronghold could become the trigger for another major escalation.
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