The secret nuclear site in Syria: A secret deal was brokered between Trump, Israel and Damascus

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is expected to soon remove nuclear material stored at a secret site in Syria, following understandings reached by the Donald Trump administration with the Syrian government and Israel, Israeli and American officials told the news agency Axios on Monday.

The agreements were reached after months of diplomatic and secret contacts, during which the US and the IAEA sought to arrange for the handling of the material and prevent an escalation between Israel and Syria that could have involved Turkey.

American officials stated that the incident illustrates President Donald Trump's approach toward Syria and how the US leveraged its close relationship with the new Syrian government to neutralize a potential crisis.

The site under Israeli surveillance

One of the sites that Syria still holds and that has occupied Israel in recent years is known as "Site 99." According to two Israeli officials, the Bashar al-Assad regime stored nuclear material there that was part of the Al-Kibar nuclear reactor project.

An American official stated that the materials include powder produced from uranium ore, which could be further processed and enriched as part of the nuclear fuel cycle. Additionally, remnants from the Al-Kibar site were stored at the location.

While the material cannot be used to produce nuclear weapons, the American official noted it could be used for a "dirty bomb" — a conventional explosive device that disperses radioactive material and contaminates an area without causing a nuclear explosion.

According to Israeli officials, shortly after the fall of the Assad regime, IDF forces bombed the entrances to the site to prevent access.

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Israel: "We will not allow the material to remain in place"

For over a year, Israel and the US discussed the best way to handle the site. Senior officials in the National Security Council at the White House and their counterparts in the Prime Minister's Office worked together on the issue.

An Israeli official stated that Israel made it clear to the Donald Trump administration that it would not agree to leaving nuclear material at the site. Israel even threatened to attack the site again if the material was not removed or if signs were discovered that Syria was attempting to access it.

However, an American official noted that although Israel was concerned, it was never on the verge of attacking the site.

Ultimately, the US and Israel concluded that the best path was to obtain the Syrian government's consent to remove the material. When the Donald Trump administration raised the issue, Syrian government officials claimed they were unaware that nuclear material was stored there. "Very few people in the US, Israel and Syria were aware of this," an American official told Axios.

The suspicion: Syrian attempts to access the material

Several weeks ago, Israeli monitoring identified movements in the area that raised suspicions that the new Syrian government was backtracking on the understandings and attempting to reach the nuclear material. In Israel, there were even fears that Turkey was assisting the Syrian government in gaining access.

The Donald Trump administration requested that Israel refrain from acting and brought the IAEA into the process. This resulted in an agreement signed about three weeks ago between the IAEA and the Syrian government to remove the nuclear material.

According to American officials, the handling of Site 99 is ongoing, and the material has not yet been removed. "We think everyone is happy with the result. Hopefully, we can start the removal process soon and finish it before the end of the year," an American official said.

The White House, the IAEA, and the Prime Minister's Office declined to comment.