The Facts
Israel on Monday launched an air attack on Aleppo's international airport, causing material damage to the airport's runway and putting the airport out of service, the Syrian state media SANA reported, citing a military source.
Two regional intelligence sources reported that the attack targeted an underground munitions depot run by Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) inside the Nairab military airport, which is adjacent to Aleppo Airport.
The Spin
Narrative A
Israel has been conducting airstrikes against suspected Iranian weapons transfers and personnel and its proxies in Syria for almost a decade. Though the strikes are part of a low-intensity conflict to slow Iran's growing entrenchment in Syria, the West has seemingly dropped its previous plan of diplomacy to instead allow Israel and other allies to use military force to settle their grievances with Tehran. This risky strategy underestimates the potential magnitude and repercussions of a military escalation.
Narrative B
Syria is a conflict zone involving multiple actors that could cause this "shadow war" to go hot. Meanwhile, Iran — in coordination with Russia, which controls much of the Syrian airspace — risks pushing it over the edge. Israel has been clear that it will not permit Iran to freely move weapons and fighters through Syria if such activities threaten Israeli security, and that it's justified in targeting Iranian assets in any of the countries into which Tehran has dug its tentacles.
