The Trump administration has reached agreement with Syria and Israel for the International Atomic Energy Agency to remove nuclear material stored at a covert site in Syria, according to U.S. and Israeli officials.

This deal comes as the Trump administration and the IAEA were rushing to reach a diplomatic agreement to secure the material and resolve the matter before Israel and potentially Turkey get involved over the sensitive site, as the news outlet Axios first reported.

“We think everybody is happy with the result. Hopefully, we will be able to kick off the removal process soon and end it before the end of the year," a U.S. official said. 

U.S. officials also said that the event indicated the growing closeness of the U.S. and the new Syrian government under Ahmed al-Sharaa, according to Axios. 

The behind-the-scenes exchange of threats and diplomacy over the secret site occurred over months before the resolution was reached weeks ago, but was kept hidden and not previously reported, Axios said.

The secret nuclear program which had been developed under the Assad regime with the help of North Korean experts in the mid 2000s centered on the Al-Kibar reactor, which was mostly destroyed after Israel bombed it in 2007. However, several research-and-development and storage sites, mostly inactive, reportedly remained. 

After the toppling of the Assad regime, the IAEA signed an agreement with the new Syrian government allowing it to visit the Al-Kibar reactor and several other sites connected to Syria’s prior nuclear activity.

One of the facilities Israel was closely monitoring over the past two years was called “Site 99.” According to two Israeli officials, the Assad regime stored nuclear material as part of the Al-Kibar nuclear reactor project. 

One U.S. official said the material included powder, called yellowcake from uranium ore, which could be processed and eventually enriched, Axios reported. They also said that the Assad regime stored residue and “leftovers” from the Al-Kibar site at Site 99.

While the materials onsite cannot be used for a nuclear weapon for a nuclear explosion, they reportedly could be used for a “dirty bomb”, an explosive device which spreads radioactive material and contaminates the area. 

The Israel Defense Forces bombed entrances to the site to prevent access to it shortly after the Assad regime fell, Israeli officials also said.

For over a year, senior officials from the White House National Security Council have been working with its counterpart in the Israeli prime minister’s office to resolve the issue. 

According to an Israeli official, Israel told the Trump administration that Israel would not tolerate nuclear material to remain at the site, even threatening to bomb the site again. A U.S. official said, however, that they were never close to carrying it out.

The U.S. and Israel agreed that they would “buy in” from the Syrian government to remove the material. When the Trump administration raised the issue with the Syrian government, their officials said they did not know the nuclear material existed.

Several weeks ago, Israelis monitoring the site detected movements that suggested to them that the Syrian government was trying to access the nuclear material, according to U.S. and Israeli officials. They were even concerned that Turkey was assisting them to get ahold of the material. 

The Trump administration asked Israel not to pursue action. Instead, an agreement was signed three weeks ago between the IAEA and the Syrian government to remove the nuclear material, though the material has not been removed yet. 

Christina Park is a reporter for Just the News. Follow her on X for more coverage.