Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on 2026-09-04 that the Israeli military completed clearing Hezbollah fighters from tunnels under the Ali al-Taher ridge in southern Lebanon. ^[1] Iran warned the United States via Oman that it would respond forcefully to an Israeli offensive on the Ali al-Taher ridge in southern Lebanon where Iranian military personnel are positioned with Hezbollah fighters, according to three officials briefed on the message who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity. ^[2] The IDF announced on September 3, 2026, that it had completed the clearance of two Hezbollah underground infrastructures on the Ali al-Taher ridge in southern Lebanon. ^[3] Israel released five Lebanese detainees on 2026-09-04 via the International Committee of the Red Cross as part of confidence-building measures agreed in U.S.-brokered talks between Lebanon and Israel. ^[4] The Israeli military said on 2026-09-03 that it had operational control of the Ali al-Taher ridge and that some Hezbollah fighters had been 'eliminated' while others fled. ^[5] Hezbollah's media office told Reuters it was a 'natural conclusion' that Iran would have sent such a warning about the ridge, and that Iran considers any Israeli move on the ground in southern Lebanon a major violation of the Islamabad Agreement, a June 2026 US-Iran memorandum of understanding that included a Lebanon ceasefire. ^[6] Two regional officials said Iran's warning message was delivered through Oman and that over a dozen members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), including at least two senior officers, were with Hezbollah fighters at Ali al-Taher. ^[7]