Four decades ago, Israel bombed the Osirak nuclear reactor in Iraq, determined to nullify Saddam Hussein’s capabilities. World powers criticized the violation of another country’s sovereignty, but Israelis still see it as a success: Baghdad never became a nuclear power.

But the attack has far-reaching implications for the two middle-east nations and the region as a whole. Above all else, the conflict has the potential to disrupt peace and progress in the two nations and create a state of instability for as long as the war lasts.