Iran warns US against Israeli attack on south Lebanon ridge held by Hezbollah, sources say

Hezbollah is believed to have built an underground command centre and weapons stores within the Ali al-Taher ridge, which has a commanding view of southeastern Lebanon,, and has become one of the most contested pieces of ground in the Israel-Hezbollah war. 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, but have declined to provide details. The Israeli military has occupied swathes of territory to Ali al-Taher's south and has identified the ridge as one of its "primary operational focuses" in public statements.

Read:Netanyahu, Israel's defence minister say Israeli forces destroyed Hezbollah tunnels in southern Lebanon. In its message to Washington, Tehran threatened that any full-fledged Israeli offensive on the ridge would be met with a large-scale Iranian attack, said the three officials in the region, who spoke to.

Reuterson condition of anonymity. Hezbollah declined to comment on whether Iranian forces were present in Ali al-Taher. In response to.

Reutersquestions about the message, or whether the US had put pressure on Israel not to attack Ali al-Taher, a White House official said, "this is not accurate. " There was no immediate comment from Iran's permanent mission in Geneva, the US Defence Department, or Oman's foreign ministry.

The Israeli military declined to comment. IRGC forces 'holed up', officials say. Two of the officials said the message was delivered via Oman, which has played a mediating role.

Those two regional officials, briefed by Tehran, said over a dozen members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, including at least two senior officers, were with Hezbollah fighters.

The third source, a foreign official with direct knowledge of the message, said it was delivered around mid-August and that as a result of US pressure, Israel had put off storming Ali al-Taher. Contacted by.

Reuters, Hezbollah's media office neither confirmed nor denied Iran's message but said it was a "natural conclusion" that such a warning would have been sent about the ridge.

Read more:Hezbollah chief rejects Lebanon-Israel deal, demands Israeli withdrawal"Iran considers any Israeli move on the ground in southern Lebanon, especially territorial expansion, a major violation of the Islamabad Agreement," Hezbollah's 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 on the Lebanese capital's outskirts. Israel seeks to besiege Hezbollah fighters. Despite a ceasefire announced in June, the Israeli military has said Hezbollah is still operating around the ridge and twice over the last week launched explosive drones towards Israeli troops near the ridge.

In July, it said it had launched an air strike on a Hezbollah fighter near an access shaft to the underground site at Ali al-Taher and vowed not to allow Hezbollah to operate in the area or pose a threat to Israeli soldiers. An Israeli military official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told.

Reutersin June that Hezbollah fighters were stuck underground without food or water. Israeli newspaper Maariv, citing a military source, said on Thursday that the Israeli military assessed there were no IRGC forces in Ali al-Taher and that some Hezbollah fighters had died without food and water.

The third official said Israel's military was trying to smoke out Hezbollah and IRGC personnel by besieging them, shooting down attempted drone deliveries of food and water to the ridge. "What we have seen over the past month is Israeli pressure to besiege Ali al-Taher to impose a reality within this facility that renders it uninhabitable.

This approach, and the absence of a large-scale attack, means that it is possible a message was conveyed through several countries -- this is a natural conclusion," Hezbollah's media office told. Reuters. Hezbollah threatens retaliationA Lebanese source briefed by Hezbollah said the group's fighters can still access their positions through the ridge's northern side.

Also read:Hezbollah says it confronted Israeli troops advancing in south Lebanon. Reuterscould not independently confirm the military situation at Ali al-Taher, which Israel's military has included in a self-declared security zone occupied by its troops and off-limits to Lebanese.

Despite Iran's warning, the Lebanese source and a senior Lebanese security official said an Israeli military operation to capture the ridge was still possible in the coming weeks. Hezbollah said any large-scale attack on Ali al-Taher would mean a return to full-blown war, and could see missiles landing on northern Israeli communities.