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Significance
Responding to a drone incursion on February 10, Israel lost its first military aircraft in combat since 1982, provoking a series of major raids against government and Iranian assets in Syria. Fears that this might escalate into a new war were quashed by Russian diplomatic engagement.
Impacts
Iran’s increasingly sophisticated drone technology, reverse-engineered from US models, cannot match Israeli detection systems.
Israel would likely look at diplomatic and covert means (ie, assassinations) before large-scale military action against Iranian interests.
Right-wing members of Netanyahu’s cabinet could seek opportunities to outbid him in confronting Tehran.
Keywords:
Israel,
Syria,
Iran,
ME/NAF,
Russia,
United States,
ISRAEL/IRAN,
international relations,
civil war,
defence,
security,
war,
foreign policy
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2018
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