Syria's nuclear material to be removed in US-brokered deal, report says | Gravitas

Even as Trump's aim to secure enriched uranium from Iran remains a pipedream, US has managed to get its way in another country. According to a report, US has now brokered a deal whereby the international atomic energy agency

will soon remove nuclear material stored at a clandestine site in Syria. Now, the facility in question is site 99, where the previous Bashar al-Assad's government had reportedly stored residue nuclear material from the Al-Kibar site.

It is nearly 450 kilometres North East of Syria's capital Damascus. US accused Syria of building a secret nuclear reactor

at Al-Kibar with North Korea's help during the tenure of Bashar al-Assad who was sentenced to death in absentia. However, back then, Syria denied this and asserted that it was an unused military facility under construction. It is pertinent to note that the west Asian nation is a signatory to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty which allows use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. In September 2007 though, things took a serious turn when Israel bombed the Al-Kibar site. IDF released footage which showed a target locking on to a building that is blown apart afterwards.

Plumes of smoke were visible in the aftermath as Israeli security personnel monitored the operation. However, Syria didn't retaliate back then citing that Israel had struck unused military infrastructure. But, Israel acknowledged having carried out this strike only eleven years later in 2018. According to the Israeli military, four f-16s and four f-15s were involved in the operation which lasted for four hours. Defending the strike, it cited the strategic implications in Israel, Syria as well as the rest of West Asia.

It also noted that ISIS later overran the province in which this nuclear reactor is located. Israel claimed to have destroyed the nuclear reactor in its strike. According to Axios, the nuclear material transferred to site 99 included yellowcake, a powder from uranium ore, which can be eventually enriched as part of a nuclear cycle. The report added that this material can be used to build a bomb that disperses radioactive material to contaminate an area.

Now, following Bashar al-Assad's ouster, IAEA got the nod from the Al-Sharaa-led government last year to access and inspect former nuclear sites in Syria including Al-Kibar. But what was the immediate trigger for the US to push for the removal of nuclear material from Syria? According to the report, it was Israel which reportedly raised the alarm. Several weeks ago, Israel detected movements in the area around site 99.

Subsequently, it became concerned that the new Syrian government was trying to access the nuclear material with Turkiye's help. This is not all. As per the report, Israel threatened to bomb the site if the nuclear material was not removed. Thereafter, the Trump administration asked Israel not to take any action and scrambled to reach an agreement between IAEA and Syria to prevent another escalation in West Asia. Even as Trump and Al-Sharaa share a good rapport, the current incident is another manifestation of the lingering mistrust between Israel and Syria.

This is because the Assad dynasty which ruled the country for over five decades played a crucial role in empowering Hezbollah and training its fighters. The Lebanon-based outfit also fought alongside Bashar al-Assad's forces in Syria's civil war. While this changed after Al-Sharaa took over, Syria and Israel are yet to establish diplomatic relations. In May this year, US along with experts from IAEA and UK removed all remaining enriched uranium in Venezuela.

The material was subsequently transferred to US. This came months after America captured Venezuela's ex-president Nicolas Maduro and his wife. However, with Iran refusing to give in to any pressure, the question of enriched uranium

remains unsolved in the ongoing talks between US and Iran.