The International Atomic Energy Agency is expected to soon remove nuclear material stored at a clandestine site in Syria after the Trump administration reached understandings with Syria and Israel, according to Israeli and U.S. officials cited by Axios.
The Trump administration and the IAEA worked to secure a diplomatic agreement over the material in an effort to prevent a potential escalation involving Israel, Syria and possibly Turkey.
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US President Donald Trump and IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi
(Photo: Joe Klamar/AFP, Andrew Harnik/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP)
U.S. officials said the episode demonstrated President Donald Trump’s approach to Syria and showed how Washington used its close relationship with the country’s new government to defuse a potential crisis.
The months-long exchange of threats and diplomacy surrounding the secret site was kept confidential and had not previously been reported.
From Al-Kibar to ‘Site 99’
The Assad regime developed a secret nuclear program centered on the clandestine Al-Kibar reactor, which Israel bombed in 2007.
The strike largely destroyed Syria’s nuclear program, but several research, development and storage facilities remained and were mostly inactive.
After the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime, the IAEA signed an agreement with Syria’s new government allowing inspectors to visit the Al-Kibar reactor site and several other locations linked to the country’s past nuclear activity.
Charles Lister, a resident fellow at the Middle East Institute, said Syria’s new government is eager to resolve sensitive issues inherited from the Assad regime, including its nuclear and chemical weapons files, which could hamper efforts to restore the country’s international standing.
One facility Israel has closely monitored over the past two years is known as “Site 99.”
According to two Israeli officials, the Assad regime stored nuclear material there that was connected to the Al-Kibar reactor project.
A U.S. official said the material included yellowcake, a powder produced from uranium ore that can later be further processed and eventually enriched as part of the nuclear fuel cycle.
The Al-Kibar reactor
(Photo: IDF)
The official said the Assad regime also stored other residue and “leftovers” from the Al-Kibar site at Site 99.
While the material cannot be used to produce a nuclear weapon, it could be used in a “dirty bomb,” a conventional explosive designed to disperse radioactive material and contaminate an area rather than cause a nuclear explosion.
Israeli officials said the IDF bombed the entrances to Site 99 shortly after the fall of the Assad regime to prevent access to the facility.
Israel warned it could strike again
For more than a year, Israel and the United States discussed how best to handle Site 99, a U.S. official said.
Senior officials from the White House National Security Council and its Israeli counterpart in the Prime Minister’s Office worked closely on the issue.
Israel made clear to the Trump administration that it would not tolerate nuclear material remaining at the site, according to an Israeli official.
Israeli officials said Jerusalem even threatened to bomb the facility again if the material was not removed or if there were indications that Syria was attempting to access it.
A U.S. official said that while Israel was concerned, it was never on the verge of bombing the site.
Eventually, the United States and Israel agreed that the best approach was to secure the Syrian government’s “buy in” for removing the material, according to the U.S. official.
When the Trump administration raised the issue with Damascus, Syrian officials said they had not known nuclear material was stored at the site, sources said.
“Very few people in the U.S., Israel and Syria were aware of this,” a U.S. official said.
Syria’s first parliamentary session under President Ahmed al-Sharaa
The same official said Washington had established a productive relationship with Syria’s post-Assad government.
“When we work with the Syrians on things — they are good partners,” the official said.
Israeli fears over Syria and Turkey
Several weeks ago, Israelis monitoring the site detected movement in the area that led them to suspect Syria’s new government was reneging on previous understandings and attempting to access the nuclear material, according to Israeli and U.S. officials.
Israeli officials were also concerned that Turkey might be helping the Syrian government gain access to the material.
“The Israelis are always kicking the tires on different things to make sure it looks right and it's good they do that,” a U.S. official said.
The Trump administration asked Israel not to take action and brought the IAEA into the process.
That led to an agreement signed three weeks ago between the IAEA and the Syrian government to remove the nuclear material from the site.
The White House, the IAEA and the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office declined to comment.
U.S. officials said work at Site 99 remains ongoing and the nuclear material has not yet been removed.
But “we think everybody is happy with the result. Hopefully we will be able to kick off the removal process soon and end it before the end of the year,” the U.S. official said.