Syria
Masyaf
This page is part of the Facilities Collection.
Following the destruction of the alleged Al-Kibar reactor, on 2 May 2008 the IAEA requested access to three locations “allegedly functionally related” to activities at the Al-Kibar site. 1 According to the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung, these three facilities were located near the towns of Masyaf, Marj as-Sultan, and Iskandariyah. 2 One of the three – likely Marj as-Sultan – was alleged to be a uranium conversion facility, while the others were reportedly storage facilities for materials such as uranium or graphite intended for use in the reactor, or possibly the debris of the destroyed facility at Al-Kibar. 3
Based on this information, the Institute for Science and International Security identified a potential site near Masyaf from satellite imagery. 4 The site contains a military storage depot, and there have also been previous allegations of chemical weapons-related storage at Masyaf. Syria has neither complied with the IAEA’s request for access to the site nor provided additional information about its function – Damascus maintains it is a non-nuclear military facility – leaving the Agency unable to make any assessment of its purpose or operational status. 5 Israel conducted an airstrike on the Masyaf facility in September 2017 upon determining that it stored short-range surface-to-surface missiles and chemical munitions produced by Syria’s Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC). 6
Glossary
- Nuclear reactor
- Nuclear reactor: A vessel in which nuclear fission may be sustained and controlled in a chain nuclear reaction. The varieties are many, but all incorporate certain features, including: fissionable or fissile fuel; a moderating material (unless the reactor is operated on fast neutrons); a reflector to conserve escaping neutrons; provisions of removal of heat; measuring and controlling instruments; and protective devices.
- International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
- IAEA: Founded in 1957 and based in Vienna, Austria, the IAEA is an autonomous international organization in the United Nations system. The Agency’s mandate is the promotion of peaceful uses of nuclear energy, technical assistance in this area, and verification that nuclear materials and technology stay in peaceful use. Article III of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) requires non-nuclear weapon states party to the NPT to accept safeguards administered by the IAEA. The IAEA consists of three principal organs: the General Conference (of member states); the Board of Governors; and the Secretariat. For additional information, see the IAEA.
- Uranium
- Uranium is a metal with the atomic number 92. See entries for enriched uranium, low enriched uranium, and highly enriched uranium.
- Chemical Weapon (CW)
- The CW: The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons defines a chemical weapon as any of the following: 1) a toxic chemical or its precursors; 2) a munition specifically designed to deliver a toxic chemical; or 3) any equipment specifically designed for use with toxic chemicals or munitions. Toxic chemical agents are gaseous, liquid, or solid chemical substances that use their toxic properties to cause death or severe harm to humans, animals, and/or plants. Chemical weapons include blister, nerve, choking, and blood agents, as well as non-lethal incapacitating agents and riot-control agents. Historically, chemical weapons have been the most widely used and widely proliferated weapon of mass destruction.
Sources
- IAEA, “Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Syrian Arab Republic,” Report by the Director General to the Board of Governors, GOV/2008/60, 19 November 2008, www.iaea.org.
- P.A. Krueger, “Verdaechtige Gebaeude in Bester Wohnlage,” Sueddeutsche Zeitung, 23 February 2011, www.sueddeutsche.de.
- David Albright and Paul Brannan, “Satellite Image Shows Syrian Site Functionally Related to Al Kibar Reactor,” Institute for Science and International Security, 1 December 2010, http://isis-online.org.
- David Albright and Paul Brannan, “Satellite Image Shows Syrian Site Functionally Related to Al Kibar Reactor,” Institute for Science and International Security, 1 December 2010, http://isis-online.org.
- IAEA, “Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Syrian Arab Republic,” Report by the Director General to the Board of Governors, GOV/2011/30, 24 May 2011, www.iaea.org.
- “Israeli jets hit Syria’s Masyaf chemical site-reports,” BBC, September 7, 2017, www.bbc.com.