Andy Stringer @AndyStringer1 Israel's strike on Syria as a dress rehearsal for conflict with Iranhttp://wapo.st/UGsxce Hide summary Reply Retweet Favorite Buffer More Israel's strike on Syria as a dress rehearsal for conflict with Iran After years of a mutual testing of wills, both Israel and Iran get another opportunity with Wednesday's airstrike. The Washington Post @washingtonpost · Follow 8:08 PM - 31 Jan 13 · Details Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a cabinet meeting. (Baz Ratner – Pool/Getty Images) The Israel-Iran standoff, in which Israel has long signaled its willingness to strike suspected Iranian nuclear sites if they come too close to producing a weapon, got a sort of very-small-scale dress rehearsal on Wednesday. The Israeli air force attacked a target inside Syria, Tehran's closest ally, which set off the expected condemnations (from Syria, Iran, Russia and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah) and fears of reprisal. Both Israel and Iran will likely be observing the fallout from the attack closely, trying to determine what it might say about how an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities would play out in the region. It's too early to say what, if anything, they could learn. But the possibility that they might extrapolate lessons about a potential Israel-Iran conflict gives added significance – and added risk – to every action and reaction in the coming hours and days. Because Israel can't know for sure how Tehran and regional leaders would respond to a strike on Iran, its perceptions of their likely reactions could play a big role in determining whether or when it actually attacks. Tehran, for its part, is likely to pace its nuclear program in part based on what it believes it can get away with before prompting an Israeli or U.S. strike. Israel's attack in Syria, then, could be...
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