How Israel Destroyed Syria's Secret Reactor

In 2007, Israel launched Operation Orchard, a precision airstrike that destroyed a nearly-complete Syrian nuclear reactor at Al Kibar. The facility — a near-exact copy of North Korea's Yongbyon reactor — was weeks from going operational. The Mossad discovered it through a laptop stolen from a Syrian official's Vienna hotel room. The Israeli Air Force penetrated Syrian air defenses using an early cyberattack that blinded radar systems. Now, as tensions with Iran's nuclear program escalate, this episode examines how the single-strike model that worked in Syria cannot be replicated against Iran's distributed, deeply-buried facilities. We explore how IAF capabilities have evolved from F-15Is to F-35s and what the "death by a thousand cuts" strategy means for regional stability.