The mystery surrounding the events in Syria on Sept. 6 is slowly becoming less mysterious.

Israel's air attack on Syria last month was directed against a site that Israeli and American intelligence analysts judged was a partly constructed nuclear reactor, apparently modeled on one North Korea has used to create its stockpile of nuclear weapons fuel, according to American and foreign officials with access to the intelligence reports.

The description of the target addresses one of the central mysteries surrounding the Sept. 6 attack, and suggests that Israel carried out the raid to demonstrate its determination to snuff out even a nascent nuclear project in a neighboring state.

Hmm, "neighboring state." How subtle.

The NYT piece fills in a few gaps, including the fact that U.S. was definitely divided on the merit of the airstrikes, and that the Syrian reactor was far from completion.

But here's the nut graf:

A senior Israeli official, while declining to speak about the specific nature of the target, said the strike was intended to "re-establish the credibility of our deterrent power," signaling that Israel meant to send a message to the Syrians that even the potential for a nuclear weapons program would not be permitted. But several American officials said the strike may also have been intended by Israel as a signal to Iran and its nuclear aspirations. Neither Iran nor any Arab government except for Syria has criticized the Israeli raid, suggesting that Israel is not the only country that would be disturbed by a nuclear Syria. North Korea did issue a protest.

Interestingly enough, Syria was outraged two months ago, and looked for some regional allies to share their indignation. They came up empty.