The Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD) in Syria called the reports of an Israeli attack on its facility in Dir a-Zour completely "made-up" and claimed that it only learned of the purported attack after seeing satellite images of its property and reading about the attack in the news.
In an announcement, the center wrote that it was shocked to hear of the "fabricated lies of the Zionist media" that its facilities were the target of a supposed Israeli raid. The center added that it would be happy to organize a tour of its property for the international press.
Last weekend, in a Ynet special report, Ron Ben-Yishai took pictures and interviewed eyewitnesses living in the small town of Dir A-Zour located next to the research center.
One of the interviewees claimed to have heard sonic booms during the alleged Israeli attack, but said he did not hear explosions on the ground.
Ron Ben-Yishai at research center
Syrian Vice President Farouq al-Shara echoed the announcement made by the center. He said Israel was spreading false allegations that it intended to attack Syrian weapons of mass destruction facilities. He also added that Syria was not interested in going to war with Israel in the near or distant future.
"Everything that has been reported about this attack is erroneous and is part of an Israeli campaign of psychological warfare that will not succeed in misleading Syria," the vice president said at a press conference in Damascus with his Iraqi counterpart Adel Abdul-Mahdi Saturday.
According to Al-Shara, this attack was meant to raise the morale of the Israeli army after it failed in its attempt to destroy Hizbullah in the Second Lebanon War.