{{Short description|none}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}} {{Weapons of mass destruction}}
Ba'athist Syria researched, manufactured, stockpiled, and allegedly used chemical weapons, and pursued the production of nuclear weapons.
The covert Syrian chemical weapons program began in the 1970s with assistance from Egypt and the Soviet Union. The Syrian civil war saw extensive use of chemical weapons in hundreds of attacks, predominantly by the Syrian Arab Armed Forces using sarin and chlorine. ISIL also used mustard gas, and Seymour Hersh controversially reported that the Syrian opposition forces used sarin.<ref name="hersh" /> The August 2013 Ghouta sarin attack was the deadliest of the war, triggering international pressure, and in September, the United States, Russia, and Syria announced an agreement for the elimination of Syria's chemical weapon stockpiles, excluding chlorine.<ref name=CNN20130914>{{cite news|last1=Smith-Spark|first1=Laura|last2=Cohen|first2=Tom|title=U.S., Russia agree to framework on Syria chemical weapons|url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/14/politics/us-syria/index.html|access-date=14 September 2013|work=CNN|date=14 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130914170203/http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/14/politics/us-syria/index.html|archive-date=14 September 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> The OPCW-UN Joint Mission completed destruction of Syria's declared chemical weapons production facilities at the end of October 2013,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/syria-has-destroyed-chemical-weapons-facilities-international-inspectors-say/2013/10/31/dc1ff6b8-4214-11e3-b028-de922d7a3f47_story.html|title=Syria has destroyed chemical weapons facilities, international inspectors say|author1=Loveday Morris |author2=Michael Birnbaum |date=31 October 2013|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=31 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131031140728/http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/syria-has-destroyed-chemical-weapons-facilities-international-inspectors-say/2013/10/31/dc1ff6b8-4214-11e3-b028-de922d7a3f47_story.html|archive-date=31 October 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> and shipped overseas its declared stockpile by June 2014.<ref name="BBC last">{{cite news |date=23 June 2014 |title=Last of Syria's chemical weapons shipped out |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-27974379 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140624212951/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-27974379 |archive-date=24 June 2014 |access-date=25 June 2014 |work=BBC News}}</ref> The mission was undermined as Syria disclosed a ricin program and further production sites throughout 2014 and 2015.<ref name="Syria ricin program">{{cite news|title=Syria had ricin program: OPCW document|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/Sep-19/271276-syria-had-ricin-program-opcw-document.ashx|access-date=21 September 2013|newspaper=The Daily Star|date=17 September 2011|author=Mike Corder|agency=Associated Press|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140920104742/http://dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/Sep-19/271276-syria-had-ricin-program-opcw-document.ashx|archive-date=20 September 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-29534926 |title= Syria declares new chemical weapons facilities |publisher=BBC News |date= 8 August 2014 |access-date= 10 October 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141009191613/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-29534926 |archive-date= 9 October 2014 |url-status= live }}</ref> According to a OPCW-UN investigation, the Syrian military perpetrated the 2017 Khan Shaykhun sarin attack, which prompted a retaliatory US missile strike. The 2018 Douma chlorine attack triggered a joint missile strike by the US, UK, and France. Following the 2024 fall of the Assad regime, foreign minister Asaad al-Shaibani stated in March 2025 that the Syrian caretaker government would cooperate with an incoming OPCW mission to destroy any remaining chemical weapons.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-05 |title=Syria vows to destroy any remaining Assad-era chemical weapons |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg70j91n811o |access-date=2025-10-25 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>
Syria sought to develop nuclear weapons with assistance from North Korea, and alleged funding and coordination with Iran. It began construction of a weapons-grade plutonium production reactor at Al Kibr. Mossad and the United States Intelligence Community became aware of the site in 2004, and the Israeli Air Force carried out an airstrike that destroyed the facility in 2007.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/09/17/the-silent-strike|title=The Silent Strike|magazine=The New Yorker|access-date=2017-11-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171118235708/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/09/17/the-silent-strike|archive-date=18 November 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> The Syria file at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) remains open, amid Syria's failure to respond to the IAEA's questions about the destroyed facility, including the whereabouts of the reactor's nuclear fuel.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/mobile/1.616759?v=2D870730A7F3E360136E6EC8FABAA5C5|last=Dahl|first=Fredrik|title=Russia fails to remove Syria nuclear probe from UN atomic watchdog's agenda |newspaper=Haaretz|access-date=19 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150507075644/http://www.haaretz.com/mobile/1.616759?v=2D870730A7F3E360136E6EC8FABAA5C5 |archive-date=7 May 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> In January 2015, it was reported that the Syrian government was suspected to be building a nuclear plant in Al-Qusayr.<ref>{{cite magazine | url= http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/evidence-points-to-syria-still-working-on-a-nuclear-weapon-a-1012209.html | title= Evidence Points to Syrian Push for Nuclear Weapons | magazine= Der Spiegel | first1= Erich | last1= Follath | date= 9 January 2015 | access-date= 10 January 2015 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150110162622/http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/evidence-points-to-syria-still-working-on-a-nuclear-weapon-a-1012209.html | archive-date= 10 January 2015 | url-status= live }}</ref>
== Background == Following the Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights during the 1967 Six-Day War, and South Lebanon in 1978, the Syrian government has regarded Israeli military power as a threat to Syrian security.<ref name=diab-1997 /> Syria first acquired chemical weapons from Egypt in 1973 as a military deterrent against Israel before launching the Yom Kippur War.<ref name=diab-1997 /> Despite the fact that Syrian officials did not explicitly declare the chemical weapons capability, they implied it through speeches and in addition warned of retaliations. Internal Syrian chemical weapons capability may have been developed with indirect Russian, German, Chinese technical and logistical support. It is likely Syria imported dual-use chemical weapon precursors and production equipment from West Europe, China and North Korea.<ref name=diab-1997/>
In 1997, security analyst Zuhair Diab, who worked for the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a diplomat from 1981 to 1985, wrote that Israeli nuclear weapons were a primary motivation for the Syrian chemical weapons program. Their rivalry with Iraq and Turkey were also important considerations.<ref name=diab-1997 />
On 23 July 2012 Syria implicitly confirmed it possessed a stockpile of chemical weapons which it says are reserved for national defense against foreign countries.<ref name=nyt-20120723>{{cite news|last=MacFarquhar|first=Neil|title=Syria Says Chemical Arms Reserved for Attack From Abroad|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/24/world/middleeast/chemical-weapons-wont-be-used-in-rebellion-syria-says.html|access-date=23 July 2012|newspaper=New York Times|date=23 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120723133640/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/24/world/middleeast/chemical-weapons-wont-be-used-in-rebellion-syria-says.html|archive-date=23 July 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>
During the Syrian Civil War, in August 2012, the Syrian military restarted chemical weapons testing at a base on the outskirts of Aleppo.<ref name="Spiegel">{{cite news|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/syria-tested-chemical-weapons-in-desert-in-august-eyewitnesses-say-a-856206.html|title=Syria Tested Chemical Weapons Systems, Witnesses Say|work=Der Spiegel|date=17 September 2012|access-date=18 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120918091651/http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/syria-tested-chemical-weapons-in-desert-in-august-eyewitnesses-say-a-856206.html|archive-date=18 September 2012|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/report-syria-tested-chemical-weapons-delivery-systems-in-august-1.465402|title=Report: Syria tested chemical weapons delivery systems in August|work=Haaretz|date=17 September 2012|access-date=18 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120918040048/http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/report-syria-tested-chemical-weapons-delivery-systems-in-august-1.465402|archive-date=18 September 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> Chemical weapons were a major point of discussion between the Syrian government and world leaders, with military intervention being considered by the West as a potential consequence of the use of such weapons.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g9X9He-7qemG3My7eoPf0y9-JSvg?docId=cd3d8d3aff3d41ddbc590e5ec05ff8f1|title=France warns of Syrian chemical weapons attack|agency=Associated Press|date= 3 September 2012|access-date=18 September 2012}}{{dead link|date=June 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
== Chemical weapons == {{main|Syria chemical weapons program|Use of chemical weapons in the Syrian civil war}}
===Syria's chemical weapons program=== Syria's chemical weapons program began in the 1970s with weapons and training from Egypt and the Soviet Union, with production of chemical weapons in Syria beginning in the mid-1980s. In the July 2007 Syrian arms depot explosion, there were suggestions that the incident involved a secret chemical weapons facility.
Prior to September 2013 Syria was one of a handful of states which had not ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention, and had not publicly admitted to possessing chemical weapons, although Western intelligence services believed it to hold a massive stockpile.<ref name=CRS>Congressional Research Service, 12 September 2013, [https://fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/R42848.pdf Syria's Chemical Weapons: Issues for Congress] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171009201733/https://fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/R42848.pdf |date=9 October 2017 }}</ref> In September 2013, French intelligence put the Syrian stockpile at 1,000 tonnes, including mustard gas, VX and "several hundred tonnes of sarin".<ref name=frenchInt13>{{cite news|last=Willsher|first=Kim|title=Syria crisis: French intelligence dossier blames Assad for chemical attack |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/02/syria-crisis-french-intelligence-assad|newspaper=The Guardian|date=2 September 2013|access-date=16 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222021241/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/02/syria-crisis-french-intelligence-assad|archive-date=22 December 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> After international condemnation of the August 2013 Ghouta chemical attack, for which Western states held the Syrian government responsible (whilst Syria and Russia held the Syrian rebels of the Syrian civil war responsible), in September 2013 Syria joined the Convention (formally acceding on 14 October), as part of its agreement to the destruction of its chemical weapons under the supervision of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. In October 2013, the OPCW found a total of 1,300 tons of chemical weapons.<ref name="telegraph inspectors find 1,300 tons">{{cite news |last=Spencer|first=Richard|title=Syria: inspectors find 1,300 tons of chemical weapons |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10411375/Syria-inspectors-find-1300-tons-of-chemical-weapons.html|access-date=31 October 2013 |newspaper=Telegraph|date=29 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131031043950/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10411375/Syria-inspectors-find-1300-tons-of-chemical-weapons.html|archive-date=31 October 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>
On 16 October 2013, the OPCW and the United Nations formally established a joint mission to oversee the elimination of the Syrian chemical weapons program by mid-2014, which was declared completed in January 2016.<ref name="nytimes-chemical-destroyed">{{cite news|last=Shane|first=Scott|newspaper=The New York Times|date=7 April 2017|title=Weren't Syria's Chemical Weapons Destroyed? It's Complicated|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/07/world/middleeast/werent-syrias-chemical-weapons-destroyed-its-complicated.html|access-date=6 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180306083235/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/07/world/middleeast/werent-syrias-chemical-weapons-destroyed-its-complicated.html|archive-date=6 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> According to Reuters, a chemical analysis done in January 2018 on the destroyed stockpile samples match some chemical markers such as hexamine, unique to the Syrian recipe for sarin, with samples from the 21 August 2013 Ghouta attack and also from interviewees' samples from Khan Sheikhoun and Khan Al-Assal attack sites.<ref name="reuters-chemical-analysis">{{cite news|last=Deutsch|first=Anthony|title=Exclusive: Tests link Syrian government stockpile to largest sarin attack - sources|work=Reuters|date=30 January 2018|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-chemicalweapons-exclusiv/exclusive-tests-link-syrian-government-stockpile-to-largest-sarin-attack-sources-idUSKBN1FJ0MG|access-date=6 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180227190216/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-chemicalweapons-exclusiv/exclusive-tests-link-syrian-government-stockpile-to-largest-sarin-attack-sources-idUSKBN1FJ0MG|archive-date=27 February 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="opcw-report-2017">{{Cite web|title=Report Of The OPCW Fact-finding Mission In Syria Regarding An Alleged Incident In Khan Shaykhun, Syrian Arab Republic April 2017 |url=https://www.opcw.org/fileadmin/OPCW/Fact_Finding_Mission/s-1510-2017_e_.pdf |publisher=OPCW Technical Secretariat|date=29 June 2017|page=50|access-date=6 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704104606/https://www.opcw.org/fileadmin/OPCW/Fact_Finding_Mission/s-1510-2017_e_.pdf|archive-date=4 July 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
===Syrian opposition chemical weapons capability=== The Syrian government claims that the opposition has the capacity to launch large chemical attacks such as those seen at Ghouta. Sources such as the United States<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/08/27/216172145/is-it-possible-the-syrian-rebels-not-assad-used-chemical-weapons|title=Is It Possible The Syrian Rebels (Not Assad) Used Chemical Weapons?|date=27 August 2013|work=NPR.org|access-date=24 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141024200454/http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/08/27/216172145/is-it-possible-the-syrian-rebels-not-assad-used-chemical-weapons|archive-date=24 October 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> and Human Rights Watch<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Security-Watch/Backchannels/2013/0923/Syrian-rebels-and-chemical-weapons-a-disinformation-operation|title=Syrian rebels and chemical weapons: a disinformation operation?|author=Dan Murphy|date=23 September 2013|work=The Christian Science Monitor|access-date=24 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141024193525/http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Security-Watch/Backchannels/2013/0923/Syrian-rebels-and-chemical-weapons-a-disinformation-operation|archive-date=24 October 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> disagree, claiming there is no significant evidence the opposition has any significant chemical weapons capability.
A Syrian military source told SANA, the official news agency in Syria, that the Syrian Army seized two containers with sarin together with automatic rifles, pistols and homemade bombs (IEDs) in a rebel hideout in the al-Faraieh neighborhood (also spelled Al-Faraya)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Al-Faraya,+Hamah,+Syria/|title=Al-Faraya, Hamah, Syria|publisher=Google Maps}}</ref> of the city of Hama on 1 June 2013,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nsnbc.me/2013/06/02/syrian-military-seizes-sarin-gas-from-rebels-russia-blocks-un-quasir-resolution/|title=Syrian Military seizes Sarin Gas from "rebels"|work=Nsnbc international|date=2 June 2013|access-date=10 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714112136/http://nsnbc.me/2013/06/02/syrian-military-seizes-sarin-gas-from-rebels-russia-blocks-un-quasir-resolution/|archive-date=14 July 2014|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-06/02/c_132424652.htm|title=Syrian army captures sarin containers with rebels in Hama|work=Xinhua|date=2 June 2013|access-date=13 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130620215218/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-06/02/c_132424652.htm|archive-date=20 June 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> which has been the scene of fighting between government troops and armed opposition groups.{{cn|date=May 2023}} The Syrian government declared the two cylinders "as abandoned chemical weapons" and told the OPCW that "the items did not belong to" them.<ref name="straitstimes"/> On 14 June 2014, the Joint OPCW-UN Mission confirmed that the cylinders contained sarin.<ref name="straitstimes"/> On 7 July 2014, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon informed the UN Security Council about the findings.<ref name="straitstimes">{{cite news|url=http://www.straitstimes.com/news/world/middle-east/story/two-abandoned-cylinders-seized-syria-contained-sarin-un-20140708|title=Two 'abandoned' cylinders seized in Syria contained sarin: UN|newspaper=The Straits Times|agency=Reuters|date=8 July 2014|access-date=9 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140708174331/http://www.straitstimes.com/news/world/middle-east/story/two-abandoned-cylinders-seized-syria-contained-sarin-un-20140708|archive-date=8 July 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>
In December 2013 investigative journalist Seymour Hersh controversially reported that multiple U.S. intelligence agencies had allegedly produced top secret assessments in the summer of 2013, regarding Syrian rebel's supposed chemical weapons capabilities. The alleged assessments were said by Hersh to have concluded that the Al-Nusra Front and Al-Qaeda in Iraq were capable of acquiring, producing, and deploying sarin gas "in quantity".<ref name=hersh>{{cite journal|last=Hersh|first=Seymour|title=Whose Sarin?|journal=London Review of Books|date=8 December 2013|url=http://www.lrb.co.uk/2013/12/08/seymour-m-hersh/whose-sarin|access-date=10 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131209194107/http://www.lrb.co.uk/2013/12/08/seymour-m-hersh/whose-sarin|archive-date=9 December 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> A spokesman for the Director of National Intelligence replied that Hersh's report was "simply false."<ref>Dylan Byers [https://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2013/12/white-house-sy-hersh-report-false-179164 "White House: Sy Hersh report 'false'"] , Politico, 9 December 2013</ref>
On 8 April 2016, a spokesman for the rebel group said that "weapons not authorized for use in these types of confrontations" had been used against Kurdish militia and civilians in the Sheikh Maqsood neighborhood in Aleppo. He stated that "One of our commanders has unlawfully used a type of weapon that is not included in our list".<ref name="Concerns grow">{{cite news|url=http://www.dw.com/en/concerns-grow-about-abuses-war-crimes-in-syria/a-19277777|title=Middle East Concerns grow about abuses, war crimes in Syria|work=Deutsche Welle|date=25 May 2016|access-date=12 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180410135845/http://www.dw.com/en/concerns-grow-about-abuses-war-crimes-in-syria/a-19277777|archive-date=10 April 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> He did not specify what substances were used but, according to the Kurdish Red Crescent, the symptoms were consistent with the use of chlorine gas or other agents. Welat Memo, a physician with the Kurdish Red Crescent, said that the people affected are "vomiting and having difficulty in breathing."<ref>{{cite web|title=Kurdish Officials: Rebels May Have Used Chemicals in Aleppo|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/kurdish-officials-rebels-may-have-used-chemicals-aleppo/3276743.html|website=Voice of America|access-date=11 April 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411110119/http://www.voanews.com/content/kurdish-officials-rebels-may-have-used-chemicals-aleppo/3276743.html|archive-date=11 April 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Jaysh al-Islam subsequently clarified that it was referring to "modified Grad rockets," not chemical weapons.<ref>Sam Heller [https://www.thedailybeast.com/one-kurdish-neighborhood-in-the-crossfire One Kurdish Neighborhood in the Crossfire] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180803134518/https://www.thedailybeast.com/one-kurdish-neighborhood-in-the-crossfire |date=3 August 2018 }}, Daily Beast, 15 April 2016</ref><ref name=stanford17>{{cite web|title=MAPPING MILITANT ORGANIZATIONS: Jaish al-Islam|url=https://web.stanford.edu/group/mappingmilitants/cgi-bin/groups/view/533|website=Stanford University|date=31 August 2017|access-date=20 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305192425/https://web.stanford.edu/group/mappingmilitants/cgi-bin/groups/view/533|archive-date=5 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>
===ISIS mustard gas use=== {{Main|Islamic State and weapons of mass destruction}} The BBC reported in September 2015 that, according to an unnamed U.S. official, the U.S. believes that ISIS had used powdered mustard agent at least four times in Syria and Iraq, that ISIS had probably manufactured the mustard agent itself, and probably had an active chemical weapons research team. Mustard agent is a relatively simple chemical weapon to manufacture, and given the Syrian government's chemical-weapons disarmament, analysts deemed it unlikely that ISIS had acquired the mustard agent from seizing a Syrian government cache. The BBC further stated that a BBC team on the Turkey-Syria border had seen corroborating evidence.<ref name=bbc-20150911>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-34211838 |title=US official: 'IS making and using chemical weapons in Iraq and Syria' |author=Paul Blake |publisher=BBC |date=11 September 2015 |access-date=16 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150914051234/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-34211838 |archive-date=14 September 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=independent-20150911>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-manufacturing-and-using-chemical-weapons-in-iraq-and-syria-us-official-claims-10496094.html |title=Isis 'manufacturing and using chemical weapons' in Iraq and Syria, US official claims |author=Lizzie Dearden |newspaper=The Independent |date=11 September 2015 |access-date=16 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913235633/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-manufacturing-and-using-chemical-weapons-in-iraq-and-syria-us-official-claims-10496094.html |archive-date=13 September 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Biological weapons == Ba'athist Syria was generally considered not to have biological weapons.<ref name=diab-1997>{{cite journal|url=http://cns.miis.edu/npr/pdfs/diab51.pdf|title=Syria's Chemical and Biological Weapons: Assessing capabilities and motivations|author=M. Zuhair Diab|journal=The Nonproliferation Review|date=Fall 1997|volume=5|number=1|access-date=28 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131027045508/http://cns.miis.edu/npr/pdfs/diab51.pdf|archive-date=27 October 2013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=nyt-20120723/> However, there are some reports{{by who|date=October 2023}} of an active biological weapons research and production program. According to NATO Consultant Dr Jill Dekker, Syria has worked on: anthrax, plague, tularemia, botulism, smallpox, aflatoxin, cholera, ricin and camelpox, and has used Russian help in installing anthrax in missile warheads. She also stated "they view their bio-chemical arsenal as part of a normal weapons program".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm/frm/13108/sec_id/13108|title=Syria's Bio-Warfare Threat: an interview with Dr. Jill Dekker|work=New English Review|access-date=16 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728024740/http://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm/frm/13108/sec_id/13108|archive-date=28 July 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>
==<span class="anchor" id="Nuclear weapons"></span> Nuclear program == {{Infobox nuclear weapons by country | country_name = Syria | image_photo = Syrian Reactor Before After.jpg | caption = Before and after satellite image of destroyed undeclared reactor, 2007. | image_location = Syria location map3.svg | map_caption = | program_start = {{start year and age|1979}} (alleged)<ref name="Globalsecurity Nuclear Programs"/><ref name="Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control 2009">{{cite web | title=Syria Nuclear Milestones - 1963-2009 | website=Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control | date=2009-05-01 | url=https://www.wisconsinproject.org/syria-nuclear-milestones-1963-2009/ | access-date=2022-09-22}}</ref><ref name="The Nuclear Threat Initiative 2008">{{cite web | title=Is Syria a Candidate for Nuclear Proliferation? | website=The Nuclear Threat Initiative | date=2008-02-29 | url=https://www.nti.org/analysis/articles/syria-candidate-nuclear-proliferation/ | access-date=2022-09-22}}</ref> | first_test = ''None'' | first_fusion = ''None'' | last_test = | largest_yield = ''None'' | total_tests = ''None'' | peak_stockpile = ''None'' | current_stockpile = ''None''<br>{{small|(Program destroyed in its earliest stages)}} | current_usable_stockpile = | current_usable_stockpile_megatonnage = | maximum_range = Scud-ER<br>{{convert|1000|km|mi}} | nuclear_triad = No | NPT_party = '''Yes''' | institution = | program_end = {{start year and age|2009}} | stationing_start = | stationing_provider = | peak_stationed = | current_stationed = | stationing_end = }}
Syria ratified the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and conducted a limited scope basic research on nuclear power on an IAEA-approved non-nuclear reactor, called SRR-1, purchased from China in 1991.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nti.org/facilities/464/|title=SRR-1 - Facilities - NTI|access-date=17 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151020043837/http://www.nti.org/facilities/464/|archive-date=20 October 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> Despite its international obligations and claiming to be adhere to the nuclear weapon free zone in Middle East, Syria has yet to hand a letter confirming its support nuclear weapon free zone to the United Nations (UN) and had been accused of covertly pursuing its ambitions to either develop or acquire the nuclear weapons since 1979, according to the ''GlobalSecurity.org'' and Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control think tanks reports.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.un.org/disarmament/menbcletters/ |title=Middle East Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone |access-date=8 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710072833/https://www.un.org/disarmament/menbcletters/ |archive-date=10 July 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A%2F68%2F781 |title=Archived copy |access-date=2 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612142412/http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A%2F68%2F781 |archive-date=12 June 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Construction of an undeclared nuclear facility and reactor took place under direct supervision of North Korea in Deir ez-Zor Governorate in 2004, with the reactor's striking similarity in shape and size to the North Korean Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center.<ref name="Post Kessler">[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/12/AR2007091202430.html N. Korea, Syria May Be at Work on Nuclear Facility] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171231064150/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/12/AR2007091202430.html |date=31 December 2017 }}, Glenn Kessler, ''Washington Post'', 13 September 2007; Page A12</ref> With the assistance from North Korea and research coordination with Iran, the efforts were directed towards producing the weapons-grade plutonium.<ref name=hit>{{cite news|last=Mahnaimi|first=Uzi|author-link=Uzi Mahnaimi|date=2 December 2007|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article2983719.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071212021409/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article2983719.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 December 2007|access-date=2 December 2007|title=Israelis hit Syrian 'nuclear bomb plant'|newspaper=The Sunday Times}}</ref>
Fear of nuclear proliferation and volatile security situation in Middle East, the Israeli intelligence discussed the idea of joint operation to the Bush administration in the United States, although the latter declined to participate on a view of United States Intelligence Community claiming to have low confidence that the site was meant for weapons development.<ref name=IAEAHaaretz />
On 6 September 2007, Israel targeted and destroyed the undeclared facility while the nuclear reactor was still under construction and suspected to have killed ten North Korean workers.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-korea-north-syria/n-koreans-may-have-died-in-israel-raid-in-syria-nhk-idUSL271480120080428 |title=N.Koreans may have died in Israel raid in Syria: NHK |date=28 April 2008 |work=Reuters}}</ref>
In 2011, the IAEA officially confirmed that the site was a nuclear reactor.<ref name="ynetnews.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4062001,00.html|title=IAEA: Syria tried to build nuclear reactor|agency=Associated Press|date=28 April 2011|accessdate=14 December 2024}}</ref>
=== Open nuclear programs === Syria has attempted to purchase small research type nuclear reactors from China, Russia, Argentina, or other countries. Despite these attempted purchases being openly disclosed and IAEA monitored, international pressure led to all these purchases being cancelled. Syria had open and IAEA monitored nuclear research programs including a Chinese made non-reactor miniature neutron source.<ref name="Globalsecurity Nuclear Programs">[http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/syria/nuke.htm Syria - Nuclear Weapons Programs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071030061801/http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/syria/nuke.htm |date=30 October 2007 }} at [http://www.globalsecurity.org/ globalsecurity.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170722053244/http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/russia/secret-cities.htm |date=22 July 2017 }}, accessed 24 October 2007.</ref>
Syria concluded a $100 million deal with Argentina in 1990 to purchase a 10 MW nuclear reactor, but the purchase was canceled due to pressure from the United States and Israel. Syria had a similar agreement with India for a 5 MW nuclear reactor, although this agreement was also cancelled under American pressure. There was also an agreement with Russia for a 25 MW nuclear reactor in 1998, though it was cancelled under similar pressure. In addition, a Russian-Syrian agreement to build a 25 MW nuclear reactor was published on the Russian Foreign Ministry website in January 2003, but the Russian Foreign Ministry officially denied there was such a discussion.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Syria nuclear program overview |url=https://www.nti.org/analysis/articles/syria-nuclear/}}</ref>
On 26 November 2008 IAEA Board of Governors approved technical aid for Syria despite Western allegations that Syria had a secret atomic program that could eventually be used to make weapons. China, Russia and developing nations criticized Western "political interference" that they said undermined IAEA's program to foster civilian atomic energy development.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metimes.com/Politics/2008/11/25/iaea_seeks_compromise_over_syrian_nuclear_aid_issue_diplomats/afp/ |title=IAEA seeks compromise over Syrian nuclear aid issue: diplomats |work=Middle East Times|date=25 November 2008|access-date=4 June 2013}}{{dead link|date=October 2014}}</ref> The top U.N. nuclear official also strongly rebuked Western powers for trying to deny the request, saying this should not be done without evidence and merely on the existence of an investigation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20081125_8832.php |title=Nuclear Threat Initiative: ElBaradei Lashes Critics of Syrian Nuclear Aid Request |publisher=Globalsecuritynewswire.org |access-date=4 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005190354/http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20081125_8832.php |archive-date=5 October 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>
===Alleged nuclear reactor=== thumb|Satellite photo of the destroyed site thumb|Intelligence photo of the alleged reactor vessel under construction thumb|right|Intelligence photo of the alleged reactor head and fuel channels under construction
====Bombing of alleged reactor==== {{main|Operation Outside the Box}} On 6 September 2007, Israel bombed an officially unidentified site in Syria which it believed had been a nuclear reactor under construction,<ref name="Globalsecurity Airstrike">[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/070906-airstrike.htm 6 September 2007 Air strike] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025052954/http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/070906-airstrike.htm |date=25 October 2007 }} at [http://www.globalsecurity.org/ globalsecurity.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170722053244/http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/russia/secret-cities.htm |date=22 July 2017 }}, accessed 24 October 2007.</ref> in an operation called Operation Outside the Box. It was further claimed that the nuclear reactor was not yet operational and no nuclear material had been introduced into it.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/PressRelease/2008/prn200806.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928181954/http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/PressRelease/2008/prn200806.html|url-status=dead|title=IAEA: Statement by IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei regarding Syria|archivedate=28 September 2015}}</ref> Top U.S. intelligence officials claimed that the site was meant for weapons development.<ref name=IAEAHaaretz />
Western press reports asserted that the Israeli air strike followed a shipment delivery to Syria by a North Korean freighter, and that North Korea was suspected to be supplying a reactor to Syria for a nuclear weapons program.<ref name="Post Kessler">[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/12/AR2007091202430.html N. Korea, Syria May Be at Work on Nuclear Facility] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171231064150/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/12/AR2007091202430.html |date=31 December 2017 }}, Glenn Kessler, ''Washington Post'', 13 September 2007; Page A12</ref> On 24 October 2007 the Institute for Science and International Security released a report which identified a site in eastern Syria's Deir ez-Zor Governorate province as the suspected reactor. The report speculated about similarities between the Syrian building and North Korea's Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center, but said that it was too early to make a definitive comparison.<ref name="ISIS Suspected Site">[http://www.isis-online.org/publications/SuspectSite_24October2007.pdf SUSPECT REACTOR CONSTRUCTION SITE IN EASTERN SYRIA: THE SITE OF THE SEPTEMBER 6 ISRAELI RAID?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011200147/http://www.isis-online.org/publications/SuspectSite_24October2007.pdf |date=11 October 2017 }}, David Albright and Paul Brannan, 23 October 2007</ref> On 25 October 2007, Western media said the main building and any debris from it following the air strike had been completely dismantled and removed by the Syrians.<ref name="Photos Show Cleansing of Suspect Syrian Site">[https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/26/world/middleeast/26syria.html?hp Photos Show Cleansing of Suspect Syrian Site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180713021902/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/26/world/middleeast/26syria.html?hp |date=13 July 2018 }}, William J. Broad and Mark Mazzetti, ''New York Times'', accessed 25 October 2007.</ref>
====Reaction to allegations==== On 23 June 2008, IAEA inspectors were allowed to visit the Dair Alzour site (also referred to as Al Kibar), and take samples of the debris. On 19 November 2008 an IAEA report stated that "a significant number of natural uranium particles" produced as a result of chemical processing were found at the Al Kibar site;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.isis-online.org/publications/syria/IAEA_Report_Syria_19Nov2008.pdf|title=IAEA: Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Syrian Arab Republic (November 19, 2008)|access-date=4 June 2013|archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20091005021816/http://www.isis-online.org/publications/syria/IAEA_Report_Syria_19Nov2008.pdf|archive-date=5 October 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> however, the IAEA did not find sufficient evidence to prove Syria is developing nuclear weapons.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-11/20/content_10383764.htm|title=IAEA finds insufficient evidence for Syria's nuclear weapons development|publisher=Xinhua|date=20 November 2008|access-date=4 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513192818/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-11/20/content_10383764.htm|archive-date=13 May 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> Some American nuclear experts have speculated about similarities between the alleged Syrian reactor and North Korea's Yongybon reactor<ref name=Warrick>{{cite news|first=Joby|last=Warrick|title=Bombed Syrian Site Appears to Have Been Nuclear Reactor|newspaper=Washington Post|url=http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/~r/wp-dyn/rss/world/index_xml/~3/r4id8Aqix_U/AR2008111902312.html|date=19 November 2008|access-date=19 November 2008}}{{dead link|date=June 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> but IAEA Director General ElBaradei has pointed out that "there was uranium but it doesn't mean there was a reactor".<ref name=NotDamning>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7733839.stm|title=''BBC'': Syria nuclear clues 'not damning'|work=BBC News|date=17 November 2008|access-date=4 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513190659/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7733839.stm|archive-date=13 May 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> ElBaradei has shown dissatisfaction with the United States and Israel for only providing the IAEA with photos of the bombed facility in Syria,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/26/content_10116966.htm|title=''Xinhua News'': "IAEA chief: Report on Syrian nuclear plans needs more time"|publisher=News.xinhuanet.com|date=26 September 2008|access-date=4 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513192757/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/26/content_10116966.htm|archive-date=13 May 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> and has also urged caution against prematurely judging Syria's atomic program by reminding diplomats about false U.S. claims that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.<ref name=Caution>{{Cite web |url=http://www.startribune.com/world/35055019.html?elr=KArks:DCiUBcy7hUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU |title=''Star Tribune'': UN nuclear agency chief urges caution against Syria by recalling false claims against Iraq |website=Star Tribune |access-date=26 November 2008 }}{{dead link|date=April 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Russia, China, Iran, and non-aligned countries have also supported giving Syria nuclear guidance despite pressure from the United States.<ref name=Caution />
Joseph Cirincione, an expert on nuclear proliferation and head of the Washington-based Ploughshares Fund, commented "we should learn first from the past and be very cautious about any intelligence from the US about other country's weapons."<ref>{{cite web|author=Ewen MacAskill in Washington|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/apr/25/usa.nuclear?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront|title=US claims North Korea helped build Syria reactor plant|work=Guardian|date=25 April 2008|access-date=4 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130916013521/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/apr/25/usa.nuclear?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront|archive-date=16 September 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> Syria has denounced "the fabrication and forging of facts" in regards to the incident.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-04/25/content_8050478.htm|title=Syria rejects U.S. allegations on existence of nuclear activities|publisher=News.xinhuanet.com|date=25 April 2008|access-date=4 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513192809/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-04/25/content_8050478.htm|archive-date=13 May 2013|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei criticized the strikes and deplored that information regarding the matter had not been shared with his agency earlier.<ref name=IAEAHaaretz>{{Cite web|url=https://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/978043.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080426141322/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/978043.html|url-status=dead|title=IAEA slams U.S. for withholding data on alleged Syrian nuclear reactor|archivedate=26 April 2008}}</ref> Syria has declined to let the IAEA visit other military sites the United States recently made allegations about, arguing it fears that too much openness on its part would encourage the U.S. to push for years of relentless international scrutiny.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,362782,00.html|title=Diplomats: Syria to Block IAEA From Probing Suspected Nuclear Sites|publisher=Foxnews.com|date=5 August 2007|access-date=4 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514025111/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,362782,00.html|archive-date=14 May 2013|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Syria has said it will voluntarily cooperate with the IAEA further if it isn't "at the expense of disclosing our military sites or causing a threat to our national security."<ref name=SyriaCoop>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7652104.stm|title=Syria rebuffs nuclear inspectors|work=BBC News|date=3 October 2008|access-date=4 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523191945/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7652104.stm|archive-date=23 May 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> One of its three nuclear sites, located in Iskandariyah, is suspected to be a nuclear reactor.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Iskandariyah nuclear reactor |url=https://www.nti.org/education-center/facilities/iskandariyah/}}</ref>
The Non-Aligned Movement has called for the establishment of a nuclear weapons free zone in the Middle East and called for a comprehensive multilaterally negotiated instrument which prohibits threats of attacks on nuclear facilities devoted to peaceful uses of nuclear energy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Documents/Infcircs/2008/infcirc733.pdf|title=XV Ministerial Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement (July 2008): Statement on the Islamic Republic of Iran's Nuclear Issue|date=11 August 2008|access-date=4 June 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100911030318/http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Documents/Infcircs/2008/infcirc733.pdf|archive-date=11 September 2010|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The Gulf Cooperation Council has also appealed for a nuclear weapons free Middle East and recognition of the right of a country to expertise in the field of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://library.gcc-sg.org/English/Books/sessions/cs027.html|title=The Closing Statement Of the Twenty-Seventh Session of the Supreme Council of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (December 2006)|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080709045659/http://library.gcc-sg.org/English/Books/sessions/cs027.html|archive-date=9 July 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The IAEA has also approved a resolution urging all Middle East nations to renounce atomic bombs.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gordinier |first=Jeff |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/reuters/2008/10/04/africa/OUKWD-UK-NUCLEAR-IAEA-ISRAEL.php |title=IAEA calls for non-nuclear Mideast in heated vote |work=International Herald Tribune |date=4 October 2008 |access-date=4 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081208034331/http://www.iht.com/articles/reuters/2008/10/04/africa/OUKWD-UK-NUCLEAR-IAEA-ISRAEL.php |archive-date=8 December 2008 }}</ref>
===IAEA inspections === After refusing to comment on the reports for six months, the Bush administration briefed Congress and the IAEA on 24 April 2008, saying that the U.S. Government was "convinced" that Syria had been building a "covert nuclear reactor" that was "not intended for peaceful purposes."<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2008/04/20080424-14.html|title=Statement by the Press Secretary|publisher=White House|date=24 April 2008|access-date=4 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926005927/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2008/04/20080424-14.html|archive-date=26 September 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> The briefing included releases of satellite photographs of the bombed site and overhead and ground level intelligence photographs of the site under construction, including the alleged reactor vessel steel shell before concrete was poured and of the alleged reactor head structure.{{Citation needed|date=December 2015}}
On 27 April 2008, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had said the Dair Alzour site was just "a military site under construction, not a nuclear site as Israel and America claimed,"<ref>{{cite news|url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hgqNioVGXjfzPSB-qnEf2bkWg_6A |title=Syria president denies building nuclear reactor |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=27 April 2008 |access-date=4 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513205022/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hgqNioVGXjfzPSB-qnEf2bkWg_6A |archive-date=13 May 2013 }}</ref> and that Syria's goal is a nuclear-free Middle East.<ref>Daiji Sadamori, "Assad: Syria Not Seeking to be Nuclear State," Asahi Shimbun, 27 October 2006</ref> Syria allowed an IAEA visit to the site on 23 June 2008, which took environmental samples that revealed the presence of man-made uranium and other materials consistent with a reactor. Syria refused IAEA requests for further information on or access to the Dair Alzour site.
A 2009 IAEA investigation reported evidence of uranium and graphite and concluded that the site bore features resembling an undeclared nuclear reactor. IAEA was initially unable to confirm or deny the nature of the site because, according to IAEA, Syria failed to provide necessary cooperation with the IAEA investigation.<ref>{{cite news|last=Heinrich |first=Mark |title=IAEA finds graphite, further uranium at Syria site |place=Vienna |date=19 February 2009 |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE51I45R20090219 |access-date=19 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114184734/https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE51I45R20090219 |archive-date=14 November 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="AFP">{{cite news|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h5unOYKKK_uObtyARlvuJiY5jU_w |title=IAEA inspects nuclear research reactor in Syria |agency=AFP |date=17 November 2009 |access-date=3 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105015114/https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h5unOYKKK_uObtyARlvuJiY5jU_w |archive-date=5 November 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Syria has disputed these claims.<ref name="google.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5itI7N4WBk_gmaIJgZsmJAgEwAgyA |title=AFP: No graphite found by IAEA at suspect site: Syria |place=Vienna |date=24 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514015049/https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5itI7N4WBk_gmaIJgZsmJAgEwAgyA |archive-date=14 May 2013 |url-status=dead |access-date=19 January 2012 }}</ref>
On 24 May 2011, IAEA Director General Amano released a report concluding that the destroyed building was "very likely" a nuclear reactor, which Syria had been required to declare under its NPT safeguards agreement.<ref>[http://isis-online.org/uploads/isis-reports/documents/Syria_24May2011.pdf GOV/2011/30] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110627035554/http://www.isis-online.org/uploads/isis-reports/documents/Syria_24May2011.pdf |date=27 June 2011 }}, Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Syrian Arab Republic, Report by the Director General, 24 May 2011.</ref> On 9 June 2011, IAEA Board of Governors voted 17-6 (with 11 abstentions) to report this as non-compliance to the UN Security Council.<ref>[http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Documents/Board/2011/gov2011-41.pdf GOV/2011/41] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110624021510/http://iaea.org/Publications/Documents/Board/2011/gov2011-41.pdf |date=24 June 2011 }}, Implementation of the NPT safeguards agreement in the Syrian Arab Republic, Resolution adopted by the Board of Governors on 9 June 2011.</ref><ref>[http://www.voanews.com/policy/editorials/IAEA-Refers-Syria-To-Security-Council-124079309.html IAEA Refers Syria To Security Council] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120131041302/http://www.voanews.com/policy/editorials/IAEA-Refers-Syria-To-Security-Council-124079309.html |date=31 January 2012 }}, Voice of America Editorial, 17 June 2011.</ref>
== Delivery systems == The U.S. National Air and Space Intelligence Center reported in 2009 that Syria possessed road-mobile Scud-D and Tochka missiles, with fewer than 100 launchers.<ref name=NASIC-1031-0985-09>{{cite report |url=https://fas.org/irp/threat/missile/naic/NASIC2009.pdf |title=Ballistic and Cruise Missile Threat |work=National Air and Space Intelligence Center |publisher=Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency |id=NASIC-1031-0985-09 |date=April 2009 |access-date=20 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023175027/http://www.fas.org/irp/threat/missile/naic/NASIC2009.pdf |archive-date=23 October 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> In addition Syria has aircraft and artillery delivery systems.
==International partnerships== United States diplomatic cables revealed that two Indian firms aided Syrian chemical and biological weapon makers in trying to obtain Australia Group-controlled equipment.<ref name="TimesIndia_08STATE135048">{{cite news|title=US suspected Indian cos role in Iran N-plan|date=19 December 2010|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/US-suspected-Indian-cos-role-in-Iran-N-plan/articleshow/7124807.cms|access-date=9 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323185502/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-12-19/india/28252183_1_graphite-indian-firms-ballistic-missile|archive-date=23 March 2012|newspaper=The Times of India|url-status=live}}</ref>
In 2012, Iranian and North Korean officials and scientists were brought to bases and testing areas to aid in the development and use of chemical weapons.<ref name="Spiegel"/>
In November 2014, the anti-Assad Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that five nuclear scientists, one being an Iranian national, were assassinated by a gunman in Damascus. However, the pro-Assad Al-Watan's account differed, reporting that "four nuclear scientists and electrical engineers" were killed, alongside suggesting that Al-Nusra Front might be behind the attack; other sources suspect Israel.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/attack-bus-syrian-nuke-scientists-kills-26802249 |title=Syria's Assad Says He'll Study UN Cease-Fire Offer |publisher=ABC News |first1=Albert |last1=Aji |first2=Diaa |last2=Hadid |date=10 November 2014 |access-date=10 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141124023335/https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/attack-bus-syrian-nuke-scientists-kills-26802249 |archive-date=24 November 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref>
== See also == * Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center, The Syrian government agency and industrial complex, which according to security analysts and western intelligence agencies, is responsible for developing and manufacturing non-conventional weapons.<ref name="GlobalSecurity">[http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/syria/agency.htm Special Weapons Agencies] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116230837/http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/syria/agency.htm |date=16 January 2013 }}. GlobalSecurity.</ref> * Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act, a 2003 act of the 108th United States Congress which asserts that Syria's acquisition of weapons of mass destruction threatens the security of the Middle East and the national security interests of the United States
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * [http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/syria/index.html Syria Special Weapons Guide] at [http://www.globalsecurity.org/ globalsecurity.org] * [http://www.nti.org/country-profiles/syria/ Syria Profile] at [http://www.nti.org/ Nuclear Threat Initiative] {{Syrian security forces}}{{Nuclear weapons by country}} Category:Ba'athist Syria Syria Category:Nuclear weapons programs