Syria has a small nuclear program that can be described, at best, as the beginning of a nuclear fuel cycle program. Most of the program has revolved around research and the production of isotopes for use in medical and agricultural applications. There have been rumors, mainly based on statements made by high-level Syrian officials and would-be arms suppliers, that the country considered pursuing nuclear weapons in the early 1980s. Despite these claims, Syria did not seem to be initiating a nuclear weapon program in that decade. But new questions surround Israel's September 2007 strike against a Syrian facility near the Euphrates River in the Northeastern desert region of Dayr-az-zawr. Based on satellite imagery and still photographs of the installation, U. S. and Israeli intelligence sources assert that the target was a nuclear reactor developed with North Korean assistance, intended to produce plutonium for weapons use. [1] [2] However, the Syrian government has continually denied these allegations, and so far there have been no inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirming the U.S. and Israeli claims. [3] [4] Until this last development, it appeared that the Syrian nuclear effort was focused solely on civilian nuclear research, based on international cooperation, and geared towards a domestic aspiration for a nuclear power program.

Assistance to Syria has come from various countries including Belgium, China, Germany, the former Soviet Union, and according to some reports North Korea. Additionally, over the years, Syria has solicited proposals from other countries including Argentina, India, and Italy. The 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. The Middle Eastern nation 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 to signatories of 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 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.

There have been rumors that Syria might be interested in obtaining nuclear weapons to deter the Israeli nuclear 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. [5]

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 became 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 remains unknown.

In more recent years, Syria has continued to develop its nuclear research 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 early 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. It is alleged that the SRI took 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 Syrian 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 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 unclear

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 would do 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 after having exhausted his search for WMD in Iraq stated that there was 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 demand in the country. Syrian officials have stated that nuclear energy could provide a feasible energy alternative in light of oil depletion concerns and a ten percent annual increase in electricity use. [6] 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. [7]

On September 7, 2007 Israeli aircraft invaded Syrian airspace, to attack what was at that time an unknown military facility near the Euphrates river in the Northeastern region of Dayr-az-Zwar. [8] The strike was subject to speculation in the media, as Israeli military authorities did not comment on the incident, while Syria claimed the air raid had struck an unused military building. [9] [10] Later that year, leaks from the American intelligence community and satellite imagery led to reports suggesting that the installation had been a gas-graphite reactor developed with North Korean assistance to produce plutonium for weapons use. [11] Seven months later, in April 2008, American senior intelligence officials presented detailed data to lawmakers and journalists on the alleged reactor. The data provided included satellite images and still photographs of the facility, concluding that the installation destroyed had indeed been a gas-graphite reactor close to reaching operational capability before the Israeli Air Force destroyed it. [12] These allegations were rejected by Syrian officials, and of May 2008, no IAEA inspectors have been allowed to visit the destroyed site to confirm the American and Israeli claims. [13] [14]

Sources:
[1] "Smoking gun images of Syrian nuke reactor?," CBS News, 24 April 2008, <http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/24/national/main4040170.shtml?
source=RSSattr=HOME_4040170>.
[2] "Statement by the Press Secretary," The White House Office of the Press Secretary, 24 April 2008, <http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/04/20080424-14.html>.
[3] "Syria rejects U.S. allegations on existence of nuclear activities," Chinaview, 25 April 2008, <http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-04/25/content_8050478.htm>.
[4] Ephraim Asculai, "Inspecting Syria's Al-Kibar site: A technical note," The Institute for Science and International Security, 12 May 2008.
[5] May Gordon, "U.S. Exported Software, Parts To Iran, Syria, Records Show," San Francisco Chronicle, 28 August 1991, p.A2.
[6] "Syria: Nuclear Energy Alternative Proposed Amidst Concerns of Oil Depletion, Increased Electrical Consumption," OSC Report, In Open Source Center Document GMP20070112388001, 12 January 2007.
[7] Daiji Sadamori, "Assad: Syria Not Seeking to be Nuclear State," Asahi Shimbun, 27 October 2006.
[8] Tim Butcher, "Syria accuses Israeli warplanes of entering territory," The Telegraph, 9 September 2007.
[9] Glenn Kessler, "N. Korea, Syria may be at work on nuclear facility," The Washington Post, 13 September 2007.
[10] Barak Ravid, Avi Issacharoff, and Amos Harel, "Syria: There are no N. Korea-Syria nuclear facilities whatsoever," Haaretz, 16 September 2007.
[11] David Albright and Paul Brannan, "Suspect reactor construction site in eastern Syria: The site of the September 6 Israeli raid?," The Institute for Science and International Security, 23 October 2007.
[12] "Smoking gun images of Syrian nuke reactor?," CBS News, 24 April 2008, <http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/24/national/main4040170.shtml?
source=RSSattr=HOME_4040170>.
[13] "Syria rejects U.S. allegations on existence of nuclear activities," Chinaview, 25 April 2008, <http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-04/25/content_8050478.htm>.
[14] Ephraim Asculai, "Inspecting Syria's Al-Kibar site: A technical note," The Institute for Science and International Security, 12 May 2008.

	Updated June 2008