Syria and Iran Developing Nuclear and Chemical Weapons and Delivery Systems
Secret services say Iran is trying to assemble a nuclear missile
The Iranian government has been successfully scouring Europe for the sophisticated equipment needed to develop a nuclear bomb, according to the latest western intelligence assessment of the country’s weapons programs. Scientists in Tehran are also shopping for parts for a ballistic missile capable of reaching Europe, with “import requests and acquisitions … registered almost daily”, the report seen by the Guardian concludes.
A declassified report to the U.S. Congress on the acquisition of technology relating to weapons of mass destruction and advanced conventional munitions for 2004 indicates that in 2004, Syria “continued to seek help from abroad to establish a solid-propellant rocket motor development and production capability.” The report further states that Syria’s “liquid-propellant missile program continued to depend on essential foreign equipment and assistance–primarily from North Korean entities,” and that “Syria was developing longer range missile programs, such as the Scud D and possibly other variants with assistance from North Korea and Iran.”
U.S. seeks asset freeze on Syrian entities linked to WMD development
“Syria is using official government organizations to develop nonconventional weapons and the missiles to deliver them,” Stuart Levey, Treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement. “We will continue to take action to prevent such state-sponsored WMD proliferators from using the international financial system.”
Dozens died in Syria-Iran missile test
Proof of cooperation between Iran and Syria in the proliferation and development of weapons of mass destruction was brought to light Monday in Jane’s Defence Weekly, which reported that dozens of Iranian engineers and 15 Syrian officers were killed in a July 23 accident in Syria.
According to the report, cited by Channel 10, the joint Syrian-Iranian team was attempting to mount a chemical warhead on a Scud missile when the explosion occurred, spreading lethal chemical agents, including sarin nerve gas.
Israelis seized nuclear material in Syrian raid
Israeli commandos seized nuclear material of North Korean origin during a daring raid on a secret military site in Syria before Israel bombed it this month, according to informed sources in Washington and Jerusalem.
Taken together, this is damning evidence that Syria and Iran are jointly seeking to acquire or develop both chemical and nuclear weapons — and the missile systems required to deliver them to U.S. allies such as Israel, Iraq, Turkey, and the many nations of Europe.
Iranian and Syrian claims that they are attempting to purchase nuclear power plants for “peaceful” activities do not hold up well in the light of this overwhelming evidence against their authoritarian regimes.
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