The Media Line: Syria Announces IAEA Removal of Nuclear Material From Secret Site  

Syria Announces IAEA Removal of Nuclear Material From Secret Site  

By The Media Line Staff  

Syria’s Atomic Energy Commission confirmed that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will remove nuclear material from a clandestine site in Syria under an arrangement intended to prevent a possible escalation over remnants of the country’s former nuclear program, Axios reported.  

The planned removal follows understandings reached by the Trump administration with Syria and Israel. US and Israeli officials told Axios that Washington worked with the IAEA to secure a diplomatic solution involving the sensitive material.  

Under former Syrian President Bashar Assad, Syria operated a secret nuclear program centered on a reactor at al-Kibar. Israel destroyed the reactor in a 2007 airstrike, dealing a major blow to the program.  

Other sites used for research, development, and storage survived, although most were believed to have had little significant activity afterward.  

Following the fall of the Assad regime, Syria’s new authorities reached an agreement allowing IAEA inspectors access to al-Kibar and several other locations connected to the former program.  

A US official said some of the material now slated for removal is yellowcake, a powder produced from uranium ore that can undergo additional processing and eventually be enriched for use in the nuclear fuel cycle.  

The Assad government also transferred residue and other “leftovers” from al-Kibar to a location known as “Site 99,” the official said. The nuclear material cannot be used to produce a nuclear weapon, according to the US official. It could, however, potentially be incorporated into a “dirty bomb,” which uses conventional explosives to disperse radioactive substances rather than creating a nuclear detonation.  

Israel had previously targeted Syria’s nuclear program and indicated it could act again against the site. The United States instead requested that the IAEA remove the material. 

Brought to you by www.srnnews.com

Click here to read the full article