Syria denies allegations regarding nuclear reactor

Neveen Soleiman
For Al-Shorfa.com
2008-12-02

Syria denies international report of a nuclear reactor

The Associated Press quoted a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Nov. 21 that asserts the Syrian complex bombed by Israel in September 2007 displays features similar to those of nuclear reactors.

The four page report emphasises that an examination of soil samples taken from the Al-Kibar site shows that the site carries traces of particles of chemically treated natural uranium.

Syrian officials, however, were quick to refute the report, and the head of Syria’s Atomic Energy Commission Ibrahim Othman stressed that the site Israel bombed was just a military building.

Othman also said in a statement to journalists following the publication of the report that, "The IAEA's declaration about uranium particles is not enough at all to prove that we had any nuclear reactors at this site," and added, "In my opinion, this file should be closed."

Despite the fact that IAEA based its findings on satellite images and soil samples, officials from the IAEA also said that they are not enough evidence to prove the existence of a nuclear reactor there, and therefore asked the Syrian government to allow it to conduct further examination and investigation of Al-Kibar along with three other suspected sites.

[AFP, Reuters News Agency]

Bookmarking

Please comment on this article so that we can improve the experience of viewing this website.