“We are therefore treating this information with the seriousness it deserves,” he said. In his opening address to the summer meeting of the IAEA’s 35-member board of governors, ElBaradei stressed that Syria had “an obligation” to report the planning and construction of any nuclear facility to the body. Damascus has dismissed the accusations as “ridiculous”. They alleged that the North Korean government had provided assistance with construction. Officials said that the site and the reactor were similar to the nuclear facility in Yongbyon in North Korea. Should Iran suspend its uranium enrichment programme? The US intelligence reports included photographs purportedly taken inside the reactor showing construction of the shield for the reactor core, as well as control rods and refuelling ports on top of the reactor. “It is deeply regrettable that information concerning the installation was not provided to the agency in a timely manner and that force was resorted to unilaterally before the agency was given an opportunity to establish the facts,” he said.