Three officials briefed on the message told Reuters that Iran warned the United States last month it would respond forcefully to an Israeli offensive on the Ali al-Taher ridge in southern Lebanon, where they say Iranian military personnel sit with Hezbollah. [1] A White House official, asked about the message or whether Washington had pressed Israel not to attack the ridge, said "this is not accurate." [1] The warning is last month. The denial is Thursday copy. No completed Israeli assault is in the file.
Wednesday's Iran lead carried Hezbollah-drone color beside Gulf fire and an unspent extra U.S. round. That was adjacent texture, not a Lebanon-ridge exclusive. Today is announcement versus forensic chain: message, Oman channel, IRGC presence, siege, and whether U.S. pressure postponed a storming.
Two of the officials said the message went via Oman. Those two, briefed by Tehran, said more than a dozen IRGC members, including at least two senior officers, were with Hezbollah fighters. [1] A third source, a foreign official with direct knowledge, said the message was delivered around mid-August and that U.S. pressure led Israel to put off storming the ridge. [1] Hezbollah neither confirmed nor denied Iranian forces at Ali al-Taher. [1] Iran's Geneva mission, the Pentagon, and Oman's foreign ministry had no immediate comment. The Israeli military declined to comment. [1]
Hezbollah's media office called it a "natural conclusion" that such a warning would have been sent. [1] "Iran considers any Israeli move on the ground in southern Lebanon, especially territorial expansion, a major violation of the Islamabad Agreement," it said, referring to the June U.S.-Iran memorandum that included a Lebanon ceasefire. [1] Hezbollah said any large-scale attack on the ridge would mean a return to full-blown war. [1] A statement is not a completed barrage.
Israel has occupied ground south of the ridge and called it one of its "primary operational focuses." [1] Hezbollah has said in public statements that it controls the hill and will confront any Israeli advances. Its officials have referred to a "facility" there and declined to provide details. [1] Lebanese security sources told Reuters Hezbollah is believed to have built an underground command center and weapons stores on a ridge with a commanding view of southeastern Lebanon. [1] Despite a ceasefire announced in June, the Israeli military said Hezbollah is still operating around the ridge and twice over the last week launched explosive drones toward Israeli troops nearby. [1] In July it said it had launched an airstrike on a Hezbollah fighter near an access shaft to the underground site. [1] An Israeli military official told Reuters in June that Hezbollah fighters were stuck underground without food or water. [1] Reuters, citing Maariv on Thursday, said an Israeli military source assessed there were no IRGC forces at Ali al-Taher and that some Hezbollah fighters had died without food and water. [1] The third official said Israel was trying to smoke out personnel by besieging the ridge and shooting down drone deliveries of food and water. [1] A Lebanese source briefed by Hezbollah said fighters can still reach positions from the northern side. [1] Reuters could not independently confirm the military situation. [1]
The Lebanese source and a senior Lebanese security official said an Israeli operation to capture the ridge was still possible in the coming weeks. [1] Possible is not completed. Message, denial, Oman channel, and siege remain separate records. The paper does not convert them into a storming.
-- SAMUEL CRANE, Washington