Syria's Atomic Energy Commission confirmed Tuesday that it is cooperating with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to remove nuclear material from the country, in coordination with the US and other nations. The announcement follows secret understandings between the US, Israel, and Syria reported Monday, under which the IAEA would extract yellowcake uranium from a clandestine site destroyed in 2007. An IAEA delegation is expected in Syria in the coming days.
Syria's Atomic Energy Commission officially confirmed early Tuesday that it is cooperating with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the United States to remove nuclear material left from the Assad era. The statement called it addressing "the legacy of the previous regime" and said an IAEA delegation will visit Syria in the coming days, expected to announce "significant progress."
The confirmation follows a series of reports on Monday evening (Aug 10, 22:41 Jerusalem). Senior US and Israeli officials first told N12 journalist Barak Ravid that secret understandings between Washington, Jerusalem, and Damascus had been reached for the IAEA to extract yellowcake uranium from a clandestine site destroyed in 2007. That same evening, additional reports revealed the site — designated Site 99 — contained material that could be used to assemble a dirty bomb, and Israel had threatened to bomb the facility if the material was not removed. The Axios report noted the deal was structured to prevent a potential confrontation involving Israel, Syria, and Turkey over the material's fate.
The material is a remnant of Syria's covert nuclear program at al-Kibar, which was destroyed by Israel in Operation Outside the Box in 2007. The pending IAEA mission marks a rare instance of cooperation between the current Syrian government under Ahmad al-Sharaa and Western powers. The extraction would remove a significant proliferation risk that has remained dormant since the 2007 strike.
It remains unclear exactly where the nuclear material is held, and the Syrian statement did not specify the site's location or the full terms of the IAEA operation.
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