Iran Warns US of Retaliation if Israel Attacks Hezbollah Stronghold in Southern Lebanon

• Reuters reports that Iranian military personnel are allegedly sheltering alongside Hezbollah fighters at Ali al-Taher ridge

Iran has warned the United States that it would respond with a large-scale attack if Israel launches a full offensive against a strategic mountainous ridge in southern Lebanon where Iranian military personnel are allegedly sheltering alongside Hezbollah fighters, three officials briefed on the message told Reuters.

The warning, delivered last month, indicates continued Iranian involvement in ground operations in southern Lebanon and Tehran’s readiness to retaliate against Israeli attacks there as the regional conflict enters its seventh month.

According to Lebanese security sources cited by Reuters, Hezbollah is believed to have established an underground command centre and weapons storage facilities within the Ali al-Taher ridge, which overlooks southeastern Lebanon.

The area has become one of the most contested positions in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict.

Hezbollah has publicly claimed control of the ridge and vowed to confront any Israeli advance. Its officials have referred to a “facility” in the area but have not disclosed further details.

The Israeli military has occupied areas south of Ali al-Taher and has described the ridge as one of its “primary operational focuses”.

The three officials told Reuters that Tehran warned Washington that any full-scale Israeli assault on the ridge would trigger a major Iranian attack.

Hezbollah declined to confirm whether Iranian forces were stationed there.

Asked about the reported message and whether the United States had pressured Israel not to attack the ridge, a White House official said: “this is not accurate.”

Iran’s permanent mission in Geneva, the US Defense Department and Oman’s foreign ministry did not immediately comment, according to Reuters. The Israeli military also declined to comment.

IRGC personnel allegedly sheltering with Hezbollah

Two of the officials said the warning was delivered through Oman, which has played a mediating role in the conflict.

The two regional officials, who said they had been briefed by Tehran, told Reuters that more than a dozen members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including at least two senior officers, were stationed with Hezbollah fighters.

A third official with direct knowledge of the message said it was delivered around the middle of August and that Israel subsequently postponed an operation against Ali al-Taher following US pressure.

Hezbollah’s media office neither confirmed nor denied the existence of the Iranian warning. However, it told Reuters that such a warning would be a “natural conclusion” given the circumstances.

“Iran considers any Israeli move on the ground in southern Lebanon, especially territorial expansion, a major violation of the Islamabad Agreement,” the media office said, referring to the June US-Iran memorandum of understanding that included a Lebanon ceasefire.

Iran fired missiles towards Israel in early June in retaliation for attacks on Hezbollah positions on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital, according to the report.

Israel maintains pressure on Hezbollah

Despite a ceasefire announced in June, the Israeli military has said Hezbollah continues to operate around the ridge and has launched explosive drones towards Israeli troops near the area twice in the past week.

In July, Israel said it had carried out an air strike against a Hezbollah fighter near an access shaft to an underground facility at Ali al-Taher. The Israeli military also vowed to prevent Hezbollah from operating in the area or posing a threat to its troops.

An Israeli military official, speaking anonymously, told Reuters in June that Hezbollah fighters were trapped underground without food or water.

The Israeli newspaper Maariv, citing a military source, reported on Thursday that the Israeli military assessed there were no IRGC forces at Ali al-Taher and that some Hezbollah fighters had died after being deprived of food and water.

The third official told Reuters that Israeli forces were attempting to force Hezbollah and IRGC personnel out by maintaining a siege around the position and intercepting attempts to deliver food and water by drone.

Hezbollah’s media office said the pressure appeared aimed at making the facility uninhabitable.

Reuters said it could not independently verify the military situation at Ali al-Taher. The Israeli military has included the ridge within what it describes as a security zone occupied by its forces and closed to Lebanese access.

Despite Iran’s reported warning, a Lebanese source briefed by Hezbollah and a senior Lebanese security official said an Israeli operation to seize the ridge remained possible in the coming weeks.

Hezbollah has warned that a large-scale Israeli attack on Ali al-Taher would amount to a return to full-scale war and could lead to missile attacks against communities in northern Israel.