IAEA Chief Mohamed ElBaradei
Photo: AFP
Alleged Syrian nuclear plant
Photo: AP
In US defeat, UN nuclear agency approves Syria aid
IAEA approves package meant to help Damascus set up power-producing reactor despite suspicions it is pursuing nuclear weapons
The UN nuclear agency has approved technical aid for Syria despite suspicions that the country had a secret atomic program that could be used to make weapons.
The decision appeared to be a defeat for the US and its allies. They called for rejection of the package meant to help Syria set up a power-producing reactor.
Western critics expressed their concerns about the deal in the text that approved it after three days of deadlock.
The International Atomic Energy Agency is probing allegations that Syria had a covert program. It has said that intelligence reports indicate that a site bombed by Israel last year was a nuclear reactor.
Washington says the facility was almost completed and ready to produce plutonium, a fissile warhead component.
