Beyond the Headlines podcast: The Middle East's battlegrounds - Israel and Iran edging closer to conflict

Syria has become where countries in the region pick their battles, a reality which is throwing the war-torn country deeper into chaos

In this photo released by Lennart Preiss/MSC 2018, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, holds a part of a downed drone during his speech at the Munich Security Conference, MSC, in Munich , Germany, Sunday, Feb. 18, 2018. (Lennart Preiss/MSC 2018/dpa via AP)Show less

Iran and Israel were on the brink of war. Tensions arose when Israel shot down an Iranian drone on February 10, after it entered the country from Syria. Then one of the Israel’s F-16 fighters was shot down, the first Israeli plane downed in decades and a huge blow to their air force’s aura of invincibility.

Damien McElroy, The National's London bureau chief, covered a speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressing Iran over their intrusion. He joins host Naser Al Wasmi in discussing how war could break out in the region over the two countries' interests.

Regardless of the credibility behind the Israelis' claims, it is no secret Iran is trying to push its interests in the region through limited direct military engagement. Nazenin Ansari, the managing editor of Kayhan-London, sheds light on how Iran, Israel and the wider region is conducting operations in a precarious situation in Syria.