ElBaradei: Israel Violated International Law in 2007 Attack on Syria

IAEA Head Says Evidence on Alleged Syria Reactor Elusive

by Jason Ditz, February 01, 2009

In an interview with Newsweek magazine, IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei was asked why he didn’t condemn Syria and North Korea for “building a nuclear reactor” – referring to the alleged gas-graphite reactor some claim was being constructed along the Euphrates River.

The undaunted ElBaradei replied that it was because the IAEA doesn’t have the evidence to conclude what might have been there. He also took Israel to task “because they violated the rules of international law on the use of unilateral force,” adding “if I had had the evidence before the bombing I could have done it in 24 hours.”

The Israeli military attacked the facility in September of 2007, and only several months later did the United States allege that it was a nuclear facility designed to produce small amounts of plutonium. The IAEA investigated, but found little in the way of evidence. In spite of this, the United States called for the IAEA to curb Syria’s membership rights and diplomats have demanded that the nation “remain under the spotlight.”

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