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Last update - 15:24 18/10/2007
Syria denies it confirmed target of IAF strike was nuclear facility
By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service

Syria denied Wednesday its representatives to the United Nations had confirmed that an Israel Air Force strike last month targeted nuclear facility, and added that such facilities do not exist in Syria, state-run news agency said.

The Syrian Arab News Agency, SANA, quoting a foreign ministry source, said that Syria had made it clear in the past that there are no such facilities in Syria.

On Tuesday, a UN press release sent after a meeting of the First Committee, Disarmament and International Security, in New York paraphrased Syria's UN ambassador, Bashar al-Jaafari, as saying that a nuclear facility was hit.
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"Israel was the fourth largest exporter of weapons of mass destruction and a violator of other nations' airspace, and it had taken action against nuclear facilities, including the 6 July attack in Syria," the release paraphrased al-Jaafari as saying, in an apparent error as to the date of the September 6 air strike.

Syria has confirmed that the target of an IAF raid deep within its borders last month was a nuclear facility, Israeli Foreign Ministry officials said Wednesday.

The comments were first reported to Israel by Foreign Ministry Deputy Director General for Strategic Affairs Miriam Ziv, who took part in the UN meeting.

In an official response, the Foreign Ministry confirmed the content of Ziv's report, but declined further comment.

The comments follow a Saturday New York Times account, which said that the attack targeted a partially built nuclear reactor that was years away from completion.

Israeli officials have been largely silent about the affair. The military only recently relaxed censorship to allow Israel-based journalists to report that Israeli aircraft attacked a military target deep inside Syria.

Syrian President Bashar Assad has maintained that Israel bombed an "unused military building" in the raid.

The Times said the nuclear reactor was modeled on one North Korea had used to create its stockpile of nuclear weapons fuel. North Korea has denied involvement in any such activities in Syria.

Related articles:
Report: IDF raid seized nuclear material before Syria air strike
J'lem outraged by Netanyahu's admission of IAF strike on Syria
Israel says can't ignore regional efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction
CNN: Israeli gov't 'very happy with success' of IAF strike on Syria
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  1.   Syria has a number of "nuclear facilities" 08:21  |  Clickfool 17/10/07
  2.   Army radio, unnamed Syrian delegate, New York Times. 08:30  |  Maureen Ann 17/10/07
  3.   #1&2 should get together and discuss facts 09:19  |  victor hardman 17/10/07
  4.   Repeating claims don`t change facts 09:29  |  Shlomo 17/10/07
  5.   Thats not what I said !!!!!!!!! 09:40  |  Unnamed Syrian Deleg 17/10/07
  6.   Ricardo Lopez Dusil 09:46  |  David Segal 17/10/07
  7.   #4 09:54  |  Clickfool 17/10/07
  8.   Syria`s nuclear capability 10:01  |  Peter XM 17/10/07
  9.   For "Victor Hardman" # 3 10:13  |  Clickfool 17/10/07
  10.   #7 Clickfool 10:42  |  Shlomo 17/10/07
  11.   Clickfool #1 10:43  |  S 17/10/07
  12.   "If accurate" ha ha ha ha ha ha 10:47  |  Roger Bannister 17/10/07
  13.   #9 clikko fails to apologise to talkback 10:51  |  victor hardman 17/10/07
  14.   CLICKFOOL AND ASSAD ARE ONE 10:52  |  Nephtaly 17/10/07
  15.   #1 Incorrect information 10:57  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 17/10/07
  16.   4Shlomo where`s the contradiction in Azad saying that it was an 10:59  |  lakshmi 17/10/07
  17.   Where is the official confirmation? 11:00  |  UN POST 17/10/07
  18.   #12 roger gets splinters in his arse sliding down the bannister 11:06  |  victor hardman 17/10/07
  19.   Official Quoted?? Says who? 11:11  |  Alex 17/10/07
  20.   Do look for the truth, and try not to swallow even more lies 11:26  |  Hannah 17/10/07
  21.   #10, Shlomo, still squatting upon Palestinian land 11:35  |  Hannah 17/10/07
  22.   WOW - Bashar LIED! 11:39  |  matt 17/10/07
  23.   In all fairness Victor, It`s the 4 minute mile! 11:45  |  B`Galil 17/10/07
  24.   Hannah 11:52  |  David 17/10/07
  25.   Lakshmi, my favorite Julab 11:57  |  WWACD 17/10/07
  26.   Margie #15 11:58  |  Guido 17/10/07
  27.   If I was Syrian 12:01  |  Chris Linthwaite 17/10/07
  28.   For Shlomo # 10 12:03  |  Clickfool 17/10/07
  29.   Of course it was an empty building... 12:05  |  Uri 17/10/07
  30.   #24, David 12:07  |  Hannah 17/10/07
  31.   Chris Linthwaite 12:12  |  WWACD 17/10/07
  32.   re: Clickfool 12:15  |  Efox 17/10/07
  33.   Gotta suck this one for all bashers, leftists, peace-now whatever 12:18  |  Johnny 17/10/07
  34.   Can you feel it lakshmi? 12:19  |  Johnny 17/10/07
  35.   #13 Paul Harris aka victor hardkopf 12:20  |  Labhras 17/10/07
  36.   #1 so called dishonest peacenik Margie 12:32  |  Labhras 17/10/07
  37.   Another unsubstantiated statement 12:33  |  Mark Lincoln 17/10/07
  38.   #31 WWACD 12:34  |  Chris Linthwaite 17/10/07
  39.   Our perpetually wrong leftists strategists - salute! 12:34  |  17 17/10/07
  40.   Antisemitic gloaters - serially wrong 12:35  |  17 17/10/07
  41.   #24 Hannah 12:38  |  Shlomo 17/10/07
  42.   The same old pattern 12:39  |  Mark Lincoln 17/10/07
  43.   No they are talking about 12:45  |  Unnamed Syrian Deleg 17/10/07
  44.   Chris Linthwaite 12:50  |  WWACD 17/10/07
  45.   #24 David 12:51  |  Shlomo 17/10/07
  46.   The problem about constantly being caught lying 12:53  |  IBra 17/10/07
  47.   Good mornign labrat 13:14  |  Sol 17/10/07
  48.   #41, Shlomo 13:18  |  Hannah 17/10/07
  49.   25WWWACD,a little slow on the uptake,are we? 13:18  |  lakshmi 17/10/07
  50.   #49, 17 13:29  |  Hannah 17/10/07
  51.   Clickfool again. No wonder you don`t answer my question to you. 13:34  |  S 17/10/07
  52.   #15 Margie knows what the IAEA knows... 13:34  |  Johnboy 17/10/07
  53.   For Efox # 32 13:36  |  Clickfool 17/10/07
  54.   Syria to Clickfook 13:38  |  WWACD 17/10/07
  55.   "Miriam Ziv, who took part in the UN meeting." 13:39  |  Miriam Weller 17/10/07
  56.   For Labhras # 35 13:40  |  Clickfool 17/10/07
  57.   IAEA but no enhanced inspection 13:47  |  Shlomo 17/10/07
  58.   Syria denies what Israel confirms Syria confirmed 13:48  |  18 17/10/07
  59.   For S # 51 13:50  |  Clickfool 17/10/07
  60.   For WWACD # 54 13:57  |  Clickfool 17/10/07
  61.   to Shlomo 13:59  |  Sol 17/10/07
  62.   Lakshmi: When you say "we" do you mean as in "we indians"? 14:09  |  WWACD 17/10/07
  63.   Syria to Clickfook - You are not getting it. 14:25  |  WWACD 17/10/07
  64.   28 in re to 7...may be a fake but is TRUE 14:32  |  The Equalizer 17/10/07
  65.   #58 18 and others - it`s now in official UN protocol 14:35  |  Shlomo 17/10/07
  66.   #61, Sol 14:38  |  Hannah 17/10/07
  67.   Hannah # 50 Re Gloating At The Fall Of Israel 14:42  |  Dick Hertz 17/10/07
  68.   #35 the mystery irish tinker who never gets up before midday 15:02  |  victor hardman 17/10/07
  69.   Are we there yet? 15:13  |  joebhed 17/10/07
  70.   To Sol #61: Hannah as a James Bond villain 15:18  |  WWACD 17/10/07
  71.   #67, Dick Hertz 15:20  |  Hannah 17/10/07
  72.   paraphrasing 15:21  |  Tess 17/10/07
  73.   Prememptive strike??? 15:36  |  Joe 17/10/07
  74.   Hannah #71 - And The Sephardic Cousins 15:38  |  Dick Hertz 17/10/07
  75.   SOME facts beyond doubt.Syria removed recordsof North Korean ship 15:39  |  PETER SM 17/10/07
  76.   #71 Hannah`s revenge fantasy 15:42  |  WWACD 17/10/07
  77.   For those who don`t know how to ask 15:44  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 17/10/07
  78.   The Middle East NEEDS nuclear proliferation 15:47  |  American 17/10/07
  79.   Shlomo 15:47  |  Esther 17/10/07
  80.   Incidentally Hannah - Which Version Of The Quran 15:49  |  Dick Hertz 17/10/07
  81.   BANNISTER upset that Israelis did not drop their guns &surrender 15:49  |  PETER SM 17/10/07
  82.   This is the quote 15:57  |  sh