Israel said Thursday it had gained operational control of the Ali al-Taher ridge in southern Lebanon, hours after Reuters reported that Iran had warned Washington a full-scale Israeli offensive there would trigger a large-scale Iranian response.
The Israeli military said its forces established operational control over the area through offensive actions including ambushes, mortar fire, grenades and drone attacks.
It said Hezbollah’s Badr Unit had built two tunnel facilities at Ali al-Taher with funding and planning from Iran, and had used the infrastructure to direct fire, fight Israeli forces and plan attacks against Israel over recent decades.
The military said the tunnels had been used continuously during recent fighting and that Israeli troops advanced into the Ali al-Taher mountain range after weakening Hezbollah over the course of the war.
An Israeli military official said forces had targeted tunnel entrances in the heights but found no Iranian advisers or officers inside the tunnels.
Reuters reported earlier Thursday that Tehran had warned the United States against a full-fledged Israeli offensive on Ali al-Taher, a strategically positioned ridge that has become one of the most contested areas of the Israel-Hezbollah war.
Two officials briefed by Tehran told Reuters that more than a dozen members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, including at least two senior officers, had been at the ridge alongside Hezbollah fighters.
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