Iran Warned U.S. Against Israeli Assault on Lebanon Ridge, Reuters Reports

NABATIEH, LEBANON — Iran warned Washington that a full Israeli assault on the contested Ali al-Taher ridge could bring a large Iranian response, according to officials cited by Reuters.

Iran warned the United States that it would respond forcefully if Israel launches a major military offensive against the Ali al-Taher ridge in southern Lebanon, according to three officials briefed on a message reported by Reuters on Thursday.

The warning was conveyed in August, two of the officials said, through Oman, which has acted as an intermediary between Tehran and Washington. A third official with direct knowledge of the message told Reuters it was delivered around mid-August. The officials spoke anonymously, and Iran had not publicly confirmed the communication at the time of the report.

The account adds a new escalation risk around a ridge that has become one of the most contested positions in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict. Hezbollah says it remains in control of Ali al-Taher, while Israeli forces hold territory to its south and have described the area as an operational focus.

Reuters said two regional officials briefed by Tehran reported that more than a dozen members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including at least two senior officers, were at the ridge with Hezbollah fighters. Hezbollah neither confirmed nor denied an Iranian military presence there, and Reuters said it could not independently establish the full military situation at Ali al-Taher.

A White House official disputed Reuters' account when asked about the Iranian message and whether Washington had pressured Israel not to attack the position, saying the account was inaccurate. Iran's mission in Geneva, the U.S. Defense Department and Oman's Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment, while the Israeli military declined to comment.

Ali al-Taher has become a strategic pressure point

Ali al-Taher rises roughly 600 metres and sits about 15 kilometres from the Israeli border, giving it commanding views across parts of southeastern Lebanon. Lebanese security sources cited by Reuters said Hezbollah is believed to have established an underground command centre and weapons storage facilities inside the ridge.

That reported infrastructure has made the position militarily important to both sides. Hezbollah has publicly said it controls Ali al-Taher and would resist an Israeli advance, while Israel has occupied areas farther south and maintained pressure around the ridge.

The strategic significance of high ground in the Nabatieh area is also evident from Israel's operations elsewhere in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military said in May that it had expanded ground operations around the nearby Beaufort Ridge and Wadi al-Saluki, describing commanding terrain in the area as important to Hezbollah's military activity. Israel later said it uncovered an extensive Hezbollah tunnel network beneath Beaufort, claims that reflect the broader military importance Israel assigns to fortified ridgelines in the region. Those Israeli accounts are official military claims rather than independent verification of conditions at Ali al-Taher itself.

Reported warning does not establish that an Israeli assault is imminent

One of Reuters' sources said U.S. pressure led Israel to postpone an operation to storm Ali al-Taher. That claim has not been independently confirmed, and the White House disputed Reuters' characterization of the communication.

Israeli forces have instead been attempting to isolate the position, according to Reuters. A source briefed on Hezbollah's position said fighters could still reach the ridge from the north, while another official said Israel had been trying to make the underground facility untenable by restricting access and intercepting attempted resupply. Reuters said it could not independently verify those battlefield accounts.

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 fire against northern Israel. That is a statement of the group's threatened response, not evidence that such an escalation has already begun.

The reported Iranian warning therefore changes the diplomatic picture more clearly than the battlefield picture: it indicates, if the officials' account is accurate, that Tehran has privately identified an Israeli assault on Ali al-Taher as a potential trigger for direct retaliation.

No Israeli operation to seize the ridge had been confirmed at the time of review. Lebanese sources cited by Reuters nevertheless said an Israeli attempt to capture Ali al-Taher remained possible in the coming weeks, leaving the position as a potential flashpoint between Israel, Hezbollah and Iran