Israel: ‘Syria Secretly Built Nuclear Facility’ In Iran’s Footsteps (Worthy News Investigation)
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
VIENNA/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Israel’s atomic chief has warned that Syria built an undeclared nuclear facility after Iran, which he said has “in alarming amounts conducting covert nuclear activities.”
Moshe Edri, Director General of Israel’s Atomic Energy Commission, expressed concern about the ongoing nuclear activities of Syria and Iran, which have been in a “proxy war” with Israel for decades.
At this week’s International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) conference in Vienna, Austria, Edri stressed that “Syria, which built an undeclared, clandestine nuclear reactor at Deir al-Zour, optimized for plutonium production, has been in non-compliance with its safeguards obligations for over a decade.”
In comments monitored by Worthy News on Thursday and confirmed by at least two Jewish sources, he told the IAEA, the United Nations top nuclear watchdog, that “Syria has recently followed the footsteps of its close ally, Iran, and is pretending to cooperate in good faith with the [IAEA] Agency. [However, Syria is] not admitting the full facts, and not providing true answers to the Agency’s questions.”
Edri urged the “international community” to “stand behind the IAEA with a goal towards receiving clear, full, explanations from Syria, once and for all.”
Syria’s reported nuclear activities come despite IAEA Director Rafael Grossi visiting Syria in March for talks with Syrian leaders about the “peaceful uses of nuclear energy.”
It was the first trip to Syria by an IAEA official since 2011, when international nuclear inspectors fled the country during the Syrian civil war.
ISRAEL WARNING
Edri also reiterated Israel’s warning that it won’t accept Syria’s ally Iran seeking to develop nuclear weapons despite Tehran’s claims its nuclear program is “peaceful.”
In a message seemingly directed at Tehran, Edri clarified that a “nuclear-armed Iran equipped with delivery systems is not an option that Israel, or the world, can, or should tolerate.”
Despite Israel’s concerns, “There is no doubt that Iran conducted a nuclear program aimed to produce several nuclear weapon devices,” the well-informed Edri added.
“Iran continues to be the main source of regional instability and poses a threat to peace and security worldwide. This reality requires the full attention of the international community, now more than ever before,” he argued.
“Despite repeated resolutions by the [IAEA] Board of Governors, Iran has continuously failed to provide technically credible explanations regarding these activities and continues to deceive the Agency and the international community.”
His speech at the 68th General Conference of the IAEA also focused on the nuclear challenges faced by Israel, which is believed to have atomic weapons.
He revealed that the Jewish nation’s nuclear facilities are targeted by its regional enemies.
NATIONAL TASK
“As the director general of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission, our national task is to guarantee the safety and security of our nuclear facilities. [They] are openly targeted by [Islamic groups] Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran, even more so since October 7th” when Hamas attacked Israel, he explained.
“Israel continues to demonstrate its responsible behavior in this regard and continues to take all necessary precautions to ensure that these facilities are operated according to the highest international safety and security standards to withstand these threats as required.”
While Iran says its nuclear activities are peaceful, Tehran has suggested it could be “pushed” into building a nuclear weapon if Israel “threatens” its existence.
“We have no decision to build a nuclear bomb, but should Iran’s existence be threatened, there will be no choice but to change our military doctrine,” said Kamal Kharrazi, an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, recently.
“In the case of an attack on our nuclear facilities by the Zionist regime, our deterrence will change,” he was reported as saying by Iran’s Student News Network.
It is widely believed that Syria, like Iran, sought to develop nuclear weapons with help from North Korea, according to multiple sources with close knowledge of the situation.
However, Syria’s plutonium production reactor was destroyed by the Israeli Air Force in 2007.
Syria maintains it seeks to cooperate in destroying weapons of mass destruction, for instance, chemical weapons. Yet, Edri and other independent investigators suggest that Syria’s nuclear and chemical programs are ongoing, in part inspired by Iran, which actively seeks the destruction of Israel.
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