During a visit to the Western Wall, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also addressed Iran, saying: “President Trump announced this evening that Iran is trying to arm itself again with nuclear weapons. That is true. After we destroyed its immediate ability to produce nuclear bombs, both in Operation Rising Lion and Operation Lion’s Roar, they are trying again. I promise you here, at the Western Wall, ahead of Rosh Hashanah: As long as I am prime minister, Iran will not have nuclear weapons.”IDF destroys Hezbollah tunnels on Ali Taher Ridge as Israel warns Iran against interventionNetanyahu also referred to the operation on the Ali Taher Ridge. “At the same time, we are striking the Iranian axis, not only very hard in the Gaza Strip, but also in Lebanon. We destroyed the Beaufort Ridge and are now dealing with the Ali Taher Ridge.”The Upper Galilee Regional Council’s security department informed residents Thursday evening that they were expected to hear explosions as a result of IDF activity in southern Lebanon.“In the coming hours, the IDF will carry out a series of strikes and controlled explosions on the Lebanon front,” the notice said. “The echoes of explosions will be heard throughout the area, particularly in the central Upper Galilee, Ramim Ridge, the Hula Valley and the Golan Heights.”The council stressed that there was no change in instructions to the public.The Israeli operation is taking place against the backdrop of concern over a possible Iranian response. According to reports, Iran has warned that a comprehensive Israeli operation on the ridge would be met with a significant counterresponse. Hezbollah has been pressing Tehran to intervene in an effort to stop the Israeli operation, and the possibility that Iran could choose to respond directly against Israel is being taken into account by the Israeli security establishment.Israel, for its part, has made clear that if Iran attacks, the response will not be limited to the Lebanese arena. At this stage, however, the security establishment assesses that the likelihood of a broader escalation with Iran is not high, while preparations are also being made for the possibility of a limited Iranian response or several days of fighting in the north.Satellite image of the Ali Taher Ridge in southern Lebanon, March 2026, showing damage from IDF strikes (Photo: Planet Labs PBC/Handout via REUTERS)Israel’s message to Tehran is clear: If Iran chooses to intervene to protect Hezbollah, it risks a much broader Israeli response.“Iran has no reason to intervene in what is happening in Lebanon,” a senior IDF official said. “If Iran intervenes and responds, they will very quickly face a powerful response that we have prepared.”Defense Minister Israel Katz also issued a particularly sharp warning to Tehran on Thursday.“An Iranian attack on Israel will free us from all restraints,” Katz said. “We will strike all infrastructure, including energy infrastructure, and return Iran to the Stone Age and darkness.”Katz added that “there are signs we are seeing that indicate that the severe economic pressure Iran is under, and fears of an uprising and the fall of the regime, could push them toward desperate measures.”He said Israel is well prepared, both defensively and offensively, for any possibility. At the same time, Katz declared that Israel does not intend to withdraw from the security zone in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed and the threat to residents of the Galilee is removed.The IDF has operated in recent weeks to take control of the Ali Taher Ridge in southern Lebanon, one of Hezbollah’s key centers of activity in the area. The ridge was used by the organization to manage fighting in the sector, operate fire systems and store weapons.The forces, including special units from the Yahalom combat engineering unit and commando troops, operated both above and below ground. The IDF said command rooms, weapons storage rooms, generators, living quarters, showers and a kitchen were found in the complex.According to the military, the strategic infrastructure was built over roughly two decades with Iranian assistance.As the operation continued, troops surrounded the underground infrastructure where Hezbollah terrorists had entrenched themselves, identified the exits and prevented attempts by the organization to transfer supplies to them.The IDF said some of the terrorists were killed and others fled. The military later announced that it had gained operational control of the complex and cleared it of terrorists, and was working to neutralize the infrastructure.The operation on the ridge continued after the ceasefire, after Hezbollah launched two explosive drones toward IDF troops operating in the area.