Algeria and Iraq are said to be cooperating in the development of nuclear weapons, according to a report by Middle East Newslink (MENL) on Friday.
Western analysts were quoted in the report as claiming Iraq had sent Algeria quantities of uranium for a secret nuclear program by the North African state. They said Algeria could be close to achieving the capability of producing weapons-grade plutonium.
Algeria has at least two nuclear reactors, both of them overseen by the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency. One reactor, believed upgraded to 40 megawatts, was sold to them by China. The other was sold to them by Argentina. But analysts said Algeria has withheld information from the IAEA, according to MENL.
"The IAEA does not have the authority to inspect all of the facilities at the site, some of which are at the very center of the controversy over potential plutonium production," the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists said in an article authored by David Albright and Corey Hinderstein.
The United States has raised the issue with China but did not obtain satisfactory answers. The Pentagon suspects Algeria is pursuing a nuclear program while the State Department has concluded that there is insufficient evidence to make such a determination, adds MENL in the report – Albawaba.com
