Syria Repeats Nuclear Denial

A senior Syrian official has again denied that Israel bombed a nuclear facility in his country and said recent remarks by the top U.N. nuclear official confirmed that assertion, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 29).

The Sept. 6 Israeli strike targeted a site that U.S. intelligence officials said was an incomplete nuclear reactor.  Private analyses of satellite images have backed that assessment by noting the similarities of the bombed building to a North Korean plutonium-production reactor (see GSN, Oct. 24).

However, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said yesterday that the site had no nuclear role and pointed to a Sunday television interview in which International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei complained of not receiving any information about the suspect site from U.S. or Israeli intelligence agencies.

Al-Moallem criticized the published justifications for the attack and the quiet international response.

“They began by saying the raid targeted a convoy carrying weapons for Hezbollah.  Then they said it was a long-range missile base, then a military position, then a nuclear facility,” he said in a Damascus press conference.  “They have become confused about justifying this raid.  But when this condemnation comes from Mr. ElBaradei it confirms that all such rumors were lies” (Albert Aji, Associated Press, Oct. 29).

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