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Site bombed at al-Kibar
Photo: AFP

Diplomats: Syria rejects nuke probe

Damascus tells IAEA it will not allow new inspections of suspected nuclear site bombed by Israel in 2007

Diplomats in Vienna said Friday that Syria has formally rejected a request from the head of the UN atomic agency for access to a suspected nuclear site.

 

The diplomats said senior Syrian officials told the agency in a letter this month that Damascus would allow no new inspections.

 


Satellite images of site being built (Photo: Google Earth)

 

Israeli warplanes destroyed what the US says was a secretly built nuclear reactor in 2007. Syria allowed International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to visit the site once but has refused subsequent requests.

 

The refusal was a snub to IAEA chief Yukiya Amano, who had directly asked Syria's foreign minister in November to allow a new visit.

 

The agency is attempting to probe both Syria and Iran. It is to release reports on both nations later Friday.

 

The diplomats spoke anonymously because their information was confidential.

 

The US Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) reported late Wednesday that Syria established four additional nuclear facilities aside from the one bombed by Israel in 2007.

 

The report, which was published alongside a report by the German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung, explains that Syria's nuclear program was far more advanced than previously believed and included, in addition to the reactor destroyed at al-Kibar, a uranium conversion facility and three storage sites.

 

Yitzhak Benhorin contributed to the report

 

 


פרסום ראשון: 02.25.11, 18:19
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