Syrian opposition claims Iran helping Syria build nuclear reactor

Syrian opposition member and former parliamentary member Mohammad Barmo claimed that North Korea and Iran were helping develop a nuclear reactor in Syria, the latest in a series of similar reports in recent years, in an article published in the Saudi Okaz newspaper on Monday.

Barmo claimed that Syria is working on a reactor project in the Al-Ghab plain in northwestern Syria. He additionally joined warnings that Iran is continuing to enhance its nuclear capabilities, stressing the dangers of being lenient with Iran.

The Syrian dissident added that if Iran obtains a nuclear weapon, the countries of the region would "have the right to possess [nuclear] weapons within the framework of strategic deterrence and the preservation of Arab national security."

The report by Okaz comes as world powers and Iran are holding talks to attempt to return to the JCPOA deal after the US pulled out of the deal during the Trump administration.

This is not the first time in recent years that Syrian opposition sources and other informants have claimed that the Assad regime continued to work on a nuclear program after Israel bombed its nuclear reactor in the Deir Ezzor region of eastern Syria in 2007. READ MORE