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del.icio.us Digg It!  new Last update - 17:28 15/10/2007 IAEA asks for information on any Syrian nuclear plans By Yossi Melman, Haaretz Correspondent The United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency on Monday broke its silence over an Israel Air Force strike last month that reportedly targeted a Syrian nuclear facility, and urged any parties with information on Damascus' nuclear plans to come forward. "The IAEA has no information about any undeclared nuclear facility in Syria and no information about recent reports," said an announcement by the IAEA. "We would obviously investigate any relevant information coming our way. The IAEA secretariat expects any country having information about nuclear-related activities in another country to provide that information to the IAEA." Advertisement The statement went on to say that the IAEA hopes any country with information on the undeclared nuclear activities in another state would pass it on to the agency. According to the IAEA announcement, the agency is in contact with Syrian officials in order to verify the credibility of "recent reports," apparently alluding to U.S. and Israeli claims that the IAF targeted a Syrian nuclear facility in September. Shortly after the IAF strike was confirmed, Haaretz contacted the IAEA to inquire as to whether the atomic watchdog agency will investigate the reports of Syrian nuclear activity. The IAEA replied that it had no intention of doing so. The IAEA statement on Monday is specifically in response to this past weekend's New York Times report according to which the IAF had bombed a Syrian nuclear reactor which was in the initial stages of construction and was modeled after a North Korean reactor. Syria is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which prohibits nations from pursuing nuclear research for military purposes. The few nuclear facilities that it maintains in the country are operated under the supervision of the IAEA. Yet, according to the safeguard agreement, a government is not obligated to report to the IAEA on the start of construction of a nuclear reactor. A state is required to report on the reactor once building reaches the final stages, or a reasonable amount of time prior to the reactor's activation. In the event that Syria's reactor was built for civilian purposes and for research only, then Damascus would not be in violation of its commitments to the IAEA and to the NNPT, even if it did not report on the start of its construction. Syria has belonged to the 144-nation IAEA since 1963 and has one declared, small research reactor under agency safeguards. It has denied hiding any nuclear activity from the IAEA or having an atomic bomb programme. Since 2003, the IAEA has been investigating past nuclear secrecy in Iran, a member state and ally of Syria. Iran has pledged to clarify the scope of its programme by the end of 2007 in an effort to avoid being hit with harsh UN sanctions over its refusal to stop enriching uranium, a process Western powers suspect Iran is channelling into bombmaking. Iran says it only wants an alternative source of electricity. The New York Times said the targeted Syrian facility appeared to have been much further from completion than an Iraqi reactor the Israeli air force destroyed in 1981 in an attack echoed by the incident last month. It said U.S. officials were divided over the Syria attack, with some seeing it as premature since the site looked years away from being used to produce spent nuclear fuel that could eventually be used for bomb-grade plutonium. It remained unclear how far Syria had progressed with the alleged plant before the attack, what role North Korea might have played and whether a case could be made that it was intended to produce electricity. U.S. and foreign officials refused to be drawn on whether they suspected North Korea of having sold or given the plans to Syria, but some said it was possible a transfer of technology occurred several years ago Bookmark to del.icio.us In Dr. King's shadow When Rice talks of a Palestinian state, she sees the black civil rights struggle in the South. Haredi satire How did Shas react upon seeing a cartoon in Degel HaTorah's official publication?   1.   Can`t be,Clickfool has fumed over "Israel attacks IAEA approved 15:42  |  Absolute Sweden 15/10/07   2.   As usual IAEA has no infos, remember Lybia 15:44  |  maurice 15/10/07   3.   what abunch of jokers those IAEA 15:51  |  Sam (UK) 15/10/07   4.   THE PROBE WILL EXPOSE ISRAEL`S LIE ! 15:56  |  TrippleJump 15/10/07   5.   Maybe the IAEA should investigate Israels nuclear 16:00  |  Sarah 15/10/07   6.   To #4 16:04  |  Ari 15/10/07   7.   IAEA has no knowledge of Nuclear programs 16:10  |  Barney Panofsky 15/10/07   8.   You`re babbling, Absolute Sweden # 1 16:38  |  Clickfool 15/10/07   9.   iaea 17:08  |  Shmuelshachor 15/10/07   10.   Unjustified bombing against a nuclear facility 17:14  |  Tosefta 15/10/07   11.   For Tosefta # 10 17:24  |  Clickfool 15/10/07   12.   #10 Tosefta - what nuclear facility 17:34  |  * BEN JABO 15/10/07   13.   # 8 Clickass, what was done regarding Syria... 17:40  |  Misha 15/10/07   14.   No need to exaggerate; things are bad enough (Clickfool #11) 17:59  |  Tosefta 15/10/07   15.   Don`t make it painful (Ben Jabo #12) 18:01  |  Tosefta 15/10/07   16.   For Misha # 13 18:01  |  Clickfool 15/10/07   17.   Nr. 4 Tripple Jump 18:20  |  Serge 15/10/07   18.   #15 Tosefta 18:51  |  * BEN JABO 15/10/07   19.   To # 17 18:55  |  dan 15/10/07   20.   For Tosefta # 14 18:59  |  Clickfool 15/10/07   21.   Good for you El baradei,coming to life at long last! Calling the 19:05  |  lakshmi 15/10/07   22.   IAEA didn`t know 19:09  |  john 15/10/07   23.   Tosefta - why did North Korea not build 19:36  |  Mark Lincoln 15/10/07   24.   The obvious answer Tosefta 19:42  |  Mark Lincoln 15/10/07   25.   IAEA 19:51  |  15/10/07   26.   Melman lies in the fifth paragraph 19:55  |  Rowan Berkeley 15/10/07   27.   There was no Syrian facility, Just Israel Trying to Start a War 19:59  |  Mr. Knowitall 15/10/07   28.   Further on why I say he lies 20:05  |  Rowan Berkeley 15/10/07   29.   N Koreans built their own reactors (Mark Lincoln #23) 20:18  |  Tosefta 15/10/07   30.   "Israeli claims that the IAF targeted a Syrian nuclear facility " 21:29  |  Yonatan 15/10/07   31.   Called to Account 22:26  |  J Olson 15/10/07   32.   Israel will attack Syria again 22:53  |  mehmet 15/10/07   33.   #27 Mr. Knownothing 23:09  |  * BEN JABO 15/10/07   34.   #29 Tosefta 23:13  |  * BEN JABO 15/10/07   35.   Time for an Acounting 23:25  |  J Olson 15/10/07   36.   Recap 00:05  |  sh 16/10/07   37.   Rubbish 00:58  |  Francois 16/10/07   38.   IAEA wants info.? Send your own special troops to gather it! 02:15  |  Genuine Tosefta 16/10/07   39.   Who would believe it? (Sh #34) 02:32  |  Tosefta 16/10/07   40.   want to stop nukes? Part 1 02:41  |  joebhed 16/10/07   41.   want to stop nukes? part 2 02:44  |  joebhed 16/10/07   42.   35 France Bomb What 03:08  |  Realist 16/10/07   43.   Mossad? 03:12  |  joebhed 16/10/07   44.   WHY? SO THEY CAN BE AS USELESS AS THEY ARE IN IRAN?!? 03:38  |  Mitch Iginer 16/10/07   45.   Oh !! THE IRONY 04:13  |  Wally 16/10/07   46.   #38-39 joebhed 05:48  |  * BEN JABO 16/10/07   47.   #41 joebhed VA 05:54  |  * BEN JABO 16/10/07   48.   BEN 17:51  |  joebhed 16/10/07   49.   #48 joehbed 21:54  |  * BEN JABO 16/10/07   50.   Nuff said 00:40  |  joebhed 17/10/07   51.   #50 Not enuff said 06:42  |  * BEN JABO 17/10/07

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