Assistance to Syria has come from various countries including Belgium, China, Germany, and the former Soviet Union. Additionally, over the years, Syria has solicited proposals from other countries including Argentina, India, and Italy. The International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) has assisted Syria on numerous projects including uranium exploration, uranium extraction from phosphoric acid, isotope production, construction of a cyclotron facility, development of nuclear research laboratories, and preparation for a nuclear power program.

History

Syria signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1969. It took this step to obtain the political and technical benefits that come from signing the treaty. In the aftermath of its losses in the Six Day War, Syria felt that it needed broader support from the international community to guard against Israeli acts of aggression. Additionally, the government wanted to take advantage of technical assistance from the IAEA and its member states that is only available after a state signs the NPT.

In 1979, Syria established its Atomic Energy Commission (AECS) largely to manage IAEA assistance programs and to plan for the eventual development of a nuclear power program. In 1983, the IAEA assisted Syria in establishing an analytical laboratory that was equipped with systems for atomic spectrometry and various other experiments. Five Syrian scientists were trained in Hungary, the United States, Yugoslavia, and Austria as a part of the project. Also in 1983, Syrian and Soviet scientists carried out a joint study on the construction of a nuclear power reactor in Syria. This study was part of an IAEA cooperative assistance project to help Syria understand the requirements for developing and maintaining a nuclear program.

Although Syria has probably never attempted to indigenously build nuclear weapons, there have been rumors that it might be interested in obtaining such weapons to deter an Israeli nuclear weapons threat. In fact, in 1986, when questioned on his opinion of the Israeli nuclear arsenal, Syrian Chief of Staff General Hihmet Al-Siabi suggested that Syria would strive to achieve strategic equality with Israel including nuclear parity.[1]

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Syria began exploring its potential for indigenous nuclear resources. Upon completion of several uranium exploration projects, Syria began experiments to extract uranium from its vast phosphoric rock reserves. In 1986, the IAEA and AECS constructed a micro-plant at the General Phosphate Company Plant in Homs to study the process of uranium extraction from phosphoric acid. The plant would be the forerunner to a commercial plant if Syria obtained a nuclear power reactor and needed fresh fuel regularly. In 1996, Syria began developing a plant to recover uranium from tri-superphosphates using a similar technology. That facility came online in 2001.

In 1991, China started constructing Syria's first research reactor, a 30KW miniature neutron source reactor (MNSR) to be located at the Der Al-Hadjar Nuclear Research Center near Damascus. China provided Syria with approximately 980 grams of 89% enriched U235 to operate the reactor. That facility went critical in 1996 and become fully operational in 1998. The MNSR gives Syria the capability to produce neutrons for nuclear analysis, isotopes for industrial applications, and radioisotopes for training purposes, but is unsuitable for weapons production.

In 1997, the IAEA approved a technical assistance project to provide Syria with a cyclotron facility. It was to be built at the Nuclear Medicine Centre in Damascus. The Cyclon-30 cyclotron, provided by Belgium's Ion Beam Applications, is the same model as the cyclotron in Iran, where it is suspected of being used to enrich uranium. The facility's status is unknown.

In more recent years, Syria has continued to develop its nuclear research facilities and other facilities to help manage its nuclear material. The government has also entered into new cooperation agreements with several countries, most notably Russia. In 1998, the intergovernmental Russia-Syrian Commission on Trade and Scientific and Technical Cooperation signed of a memorandum of cooperation between Russia's Ministry of Atomic Energy and the AECS. Part of this accord was an agreement to construct a nuclear research center that would include a 25MW research reactor.

Current Status

Syria's nuclear program remains in the fundamental stages of development, with virtually no fuel cycle facilities in operation. However, there are a number of operating research facilities in Syria, including the Der Al-Hadjar Nuclear Research Center near Damascus, a nuclear analysis laboratory, and the Scientific Research Institute (SRI) in Damascus. The SRI has allegedly taken in Iraqi scientists prior to the recent Gulf War. In December 2002, an Italian newspaper cited an Iraqi officer who asserted that Syria had allowed Iraq to store its weapons of mass destruction in Syria research centers. These allegations were never confirmed.

In 2003, Russian and Syrian officials continued their negotiations for the construction of a nuclear facility that would include a nuclear power plant and a seawater atomic desalination plant. Open sources reported that the Russian Minister of Atomic Energy confirmed that discussions over supplying Syria with a power plant and a desalination plant were taking place. However, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman refuted the Minatom statement and denied that any discussion had taken place. Consequently, Syria's quest for obtaining a nuclear power plant remains an unanswered question.

In 2004, Syria responded to U.S. and U.K. pressure to relinquish its WMD by declaring that it is prepared to do so when Israel does the same. The United States imposed sanctions in May, citing Syria's pursuit of WMD programs as one of the reasons for this step. A Syria-EU trade accord hurdle was resolved in October with agreement on a WMD clause, subject to final approval by EU foreign ministers. IAEA chief ElBaradei has asserted that there is no reason to believe Syria was a client of A.Q. Khan's nuclear proliferation network.

The head of the Iraq Survey Group Charles Duelfer has exhausted his search for WMD in Iraq. He stated that there is no evidence that WMD were transferred to Syria before the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

In early 2007 Syria announced possible plans to pursue nuclear energy in order to meet increased energy consumption in the country. Syrian officials have stated that nuclear energy could provide a feasible energy alternative in light of concerns of oil depletion and a ten percent annual increase in electricity use.[2] However, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad stresses that Syria is not seeking to become a nuclear power, and argues that Damascus’ ultimate aim is a nuclear-free Middle East.[3]

Source:
[1] May Gordon, "U.S. Exported Software, Parts To Iran, Syria, Records Show," San Francisco Chronicle, 28 August 1991, p.  A2.

“Syria: Nuclear Energy Alternative Proposed Amidst Concerns of Oil Depletion, Increased Electrical Consumption,” OSC Report, In Open Source Center Document GMP20070112388001, 12 January 2007.

[3] Daiji Sadamori, “Assad: Syria Not Seeking to be Nuclear State,” Asahi Shimbun, 27 October 2006

	Updated September 2007