Israel says it has cleared Hezbollah's Ali al-Taher ridge in south Lebanon; Iran reportedly warned of retaliation

Israel says its forces have taken control of the Ali al-Taher ridge overlooking Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, a position multiple outlets describe as one of Hezbollah's most heavily fortified points, built up with tunnels and infrastructure over roughly two decades and financed in part by Iran.

Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed the seizure in early September, and the IDF's 36th Division is reported to have led the operation clearing Hezbollah tunnels and personnel from the ridge. The development was reported independently by France 24, Al Jazeera and the FDD's Long War Journal, with consistent framing of the ridge's strategic and symbolic significance to Hezbollah's southern positioning.

According to reporting on the diplomatic backdrop, Iran had warned the United States — through Omani intermediaries — that a full Israeli offensive to take the ridge could trigger what was described as a large-scale Iranian response. That warning is attributed reporting, not a confirmed Iranian government statement on the record, and it has not been matched so far by a major Iranian military response tied specifically to this ridge.

Hezbollah's public posture since the ridge fell has been to downplay the loss rather than announce escalation, a response that several of the outlets covering the story noted as notable given how significant the position was to the group's fortified network in the area.

The episode sits inside the broader south Lebanon front, where Israeli strikes in the days around the ridge operation were also reported to have killed and wounded people in towns near Nabatieh, described by the IDF as responses to Hezbollah drone attacks on Israeli forces holding territory in south Lebanon; casualty figures for those strikes come from Lebanese and wire reporting and have not been independently verified by this desk.

What to watch next: whether Iran's reported warning translates into any specific action, whether Hezbollah changes its public posture, and whether the ridge holds as a stable Israeli position or becomes a renewed flashpoint.