According to a report by NBC News, analysts have said that the shift from covert attacks to open fighting between Israel and Iran illustrates that the regime in Tehran feels emboldened enough to confront and provoke its enemy. Experts warn that the clashes last weekend, involving an Iranian drone launched from Syria, a downed Israeli jet, as well as retaliatory airstrikes, may signal a new and intensified period of the conflict. NBC reports that Ofer Zalzberg, a Jerusalem-based senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, said that Saturday's confrontation signals "a different level of self confidence in Tehran and Damascus in terms of them having the upper hand in Syria."