Following an N12 report that the US reached understandings with Israel, Syria, and the IAEA to neutralize a secret nuclear site, Damascus on Tuesday emphasized it continues transparent and close cooperation with the IAEA, the US, and friendly states to address the legacy of the previous regime.
Syria on Tuesday emphasized its commitment to transparent cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the United States regarding a secret nuclear site, following a series of reports about understandings to neutralize Assad-era nuclear material.
The statement came hours after Syria's Atomic Energy Commission announced it would host an IAEA delegation in the coming days for a joint statement on "significant progress" in the nuclear field, as The Zioneer reported early Tuesday. That announcement built on Monday night's N12 expose by Barak Ravid, who reported that the US had reached secret understandings with Israel and Syria for the IAEA to extract yellowcake uranium from a clandestine site destroyed in 2007.
The thread began Monday at 22:41 Jerusalem when N12 reported the secret understandings, citing senior US and Israeli officials. Axios subsequently confirmed that the US and IAEA had finalized a deal to remove yellowcake from the site, known as Site 99, to prevent a potential confrontation involving Israel, Syria, and Turkey. Later reports detailed that the site stored material that could be used for a "dirty bomb" and that Israel had threatened to bomb the facility. By Monday evening, Syria had confirmed its cooperation with the IAEA for nuclear material removal and announced the upcoming delegation visit.
Damascus characterized its cooperation as "transparent and close," noting it was part of addressing the legacy of the previous regime. The rare official acknowledgment of international coordination on nuclear issues reflects a significant shift in Syrian policy since the fall of the Assad regime. The exact timeline for the IAEA extraction operation and the final disposition of the nuclear material remain undisclosed.
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