After the dramatic exposure: Syria confirms the dangerous secret of "Site 99"
Damascus confirms cooperation with the IAEA and the United States regarding the legacy of the Assad regime. Behind the official announcement hides a secret facility, radioactive material that worried Israel, and a covert process that has been in the works for months.
"The Syrian Arab Republic confirms the continuation of its close and transparent cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on one hand, and with the United States and friendly countries on the other, in order to deal with the legacy of the previous regime," thus begins the official document of the Syrian Atomic Energy Commission. The dramatic announcement, published a few hours after it leaked to the media, confirms recent reports in the United States and reveals the behind-the-scenes of the fresh Middle Eastern nuclear drama.
The Syrian document states that the goal of the move is "to reactivate Syria's full membership in the agency, and to support Syria in peaceful applications of nuclear energy, including health, nutritional, and scientific research." The Syrians emphasize that in light of their limited technical capabilities, they are calling for the establishment of an international committee that will provide appropriate support. "In the coming days, Syria will receive an IAEA delegation, during which we will jointly announce significant progress in the field," the official statement read.
This statement came in response to a report by journalist Barak Ravid on the news site "Axios." According to his exposure, the Donald Trump administration recently reached secret understandings with Israel and Syria, under which IAEA inspectors will soon remove dangerous nuclear material stored at a secret facility known as "Site 99."
Ravid reported that for months, a tense campaign of military threats and diplomatic efforts took place around the site. The Assad regime previously developed a nuclear program centered on the reactor in Al-Kibar, which was destroyed in an Israeli strike in 2007. Despite this, several semi-active storage sites survived. "Site 99" had been under persistent surveillance by Israeli intelligence for the past two years.
According to the sources cited in the report, the stored nuclear material is not enough for an atomic bomb, but it is certainly suitable for creating a "dirty bomb" — an explosive device designed to disperse radioactive fallout. The Israeli concern was so real that immediately after the fall of the Assad regime, the IDF bombed the entrances to the site to prevent looting.
"Israel made it clear to the American administration that it would not accept the materials remaining in the new country. This ultimatum led to the current agreement."
Senior American officials noted to Ravid that the administration used its close relations with the new Syrian government led by Ahmad al-Sharaa to neutralize the "dirty bomb" crisis and prevent deterioration between Israel, Syria, and even Turkey. Now that the government in Damascus is laying its cards on the table, it seems that the remnants of Assad's destructive nuclear dream are finally evaporating.
