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Source: https://www.axios.com/2026/08/10/syria-nuclear-israel-turkey-iaea
IAEA to Remove Nuclear Material from Syria
(Axios) Barak Ravid - The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will soon remove nuclear material stored at a clandestine site in Syria after the U.S. reached understandings with Syria and Israel. After Israel bombed Syria's clandestine Al-Kibar reactor in 2007, several research and development and storage sites remained and were mostly inactive. One facility Israel has been closely monitoring over the last two years is "Site 99," where the Assad regime had stored yellowcake, a powder from uranium ore that can later be further processed and eventually enriched. Residue and "leftovers" from the al-Kibar site were also stored there. While the material at the site can't be used for a nuclear weapon, it can be used for a "dirty bomb" - a conventional explosive device that disperses radioactive material to contaminate an area. Israeli officials said the IDF bombed the entrances to the site shortly after the fall of the Assad regime to prevent access to it. For more than a year, Israel and the U.S. have been discussing the best way to deal with "Site 99," a U.S. official said. Israel made clear that it wouldn't tolerate nuclear material remaining at the site.