Saturday, April 26, 2008, Rabi-ul-Sani 19, 1429    

IAEA chief hits out at US, Israel over Syrian bombing

Vienna—The UN atomic watchdog hit out Friday at the United States for withholding intelligence that Syria had been building a secret nuclear reactor with North Korea’s help.

The International Atomic Energy Agency also criticized Israel for acting on the allegations and bombing the purported reactor in a raid last September without giving IAEA inspectors an opportunity to investigate. The agency insisted it was taking seriously the allegations that were passed on by the United States on Thursday.

“(We) will treat this information with the seriousness it deserves and will investigate the veracity of the information,” it said in a statement. “Syria has an obligation under its safeguards agreement with the IAEA to report the planning and construction of any nuclear facility.”

Nevertheless, the watchdog was critical of both the US and Israel for their handling of the matter.

IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei “deplores the fact” that the information was not immediately passed on to the the Vienna-based watchdog in accordance with the guidelines of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT),” the statement said.

“Under the NPT, the agency has a responsibility to verify any proliferation allegations in a non-nuclear weapon state party to the NPT,” the statement said.

“In light of the above, the Director General views the unilateral military action by Israel as undermining the due process of verification that is at the heart of the non-proliferation regime,” it added. On Thursday, the US accused Syria of building a secret nuclear reactor with North Korea’s help, charging that the facility had a military purpose until Israel destroyed it in a September raid.—AFP

“This is a sheer frustration on New Delhi’s part, it would lead us nowhere. Instead of moving forward we are going a step backward,” she added.—PPI