UN-Truth

Since the 6 September Israeli airstrike, the Syrian government first razed the site, then built a new structure there. This, apparently, is considered suspicious.

Today, the International Atomic Energy Agency announced that Syria has agreed to “allow in UN inspectors to probe allegations that the country was building a nuclear reactor at a remote site destroyed in an Israeli airstrike”, according to a report by the Associated Press, and “a senior diplomat familiar with the details of the planned visit said agency personnel had been told they could visit the facility. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter”.

As the AP adds, “Neither the United States nor Israel gave the IAEA information about the site until late April, about a year after they obtained what they considered to be decisive intelligence: dozens of photographs from a handheld camera that showed both the interior and exterior of the compound in Syria’s eastern desert … ElBaradei repeated his criticism of Israel and the United States in announcing the Syrian visit, taking Washington to task for waiting so long to brief him on its suspicions, and Jerusalem for its air strike”.

The AP said that ElBaradei’s remarks to a closed meeting of the IAEA governing board had been made available to journalists. According to the text, ElBaradei said that “”It is deeply regrettable that information concerning this installation was not provided to the agency in a timely manner and that force was resorted to unilaterally before the agency was given an opportunity to establish the facts … [and Syria] has an obligation to report the planning and construction of any nuclear facility to the agency”.

The full AP report can be read here .

Filed under: Disarmament, International Atomic Energy Agency - IAEA, Israel, Nuclear technology and weapons, Syria