IAEA wraps up Syria visit

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A United Nations investigation into whether Syria had a secret nuclear program was described as productive but inconclusive.

“To a great extent, we achieved what we wanted,” senior International Atomic Energy Agency inspector Olli
Heinonen told reporters Wednesday upon returning from Damascus with his team.

But he described the IAEA’s three-day tour of Syria, which included a site bombed by Israel last September, as a “first visit” and said it was “too early” to judge whether the structure razed was a secret nuclear reactor built with North Korean help, as the United States has argued.

It was not immediately clear when Syria, which for months would not admitt IAEA inspectors, would
allow in Heinonen’s team again.

Asked about other suspect Syrian sites that the IAEA wants to inspect, but which Damascus has declined to include on this week’s tour, Heinonen said, “That will be something to deal with later.”

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