Following last year's Israeli bombing of a suspected Syrian nuclear facility, Damascus has reportedly restarted its nuclear weapons program, but is now following the Iranian model of housing the program at numerous different locations.

London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat cited unnamed Israeli military sources as saying that the North Koreans and Iranians are still involved in the Syrian nuclear program, which has accelerated in recent months.

They warned that Israel will not sit idly by as these events unfold since Jerusalem views a nuclear-armed Syria as "a red line which cannot be crossed."

In related news, US weapons expert David Kay told a gathering at the Nixon Center on Wednesday that he believes Iran is still 2-5 years away from fielding a nuclear weapon, and that even if the Islamic Republic produces an atomic bomb, Israel and the US must not attack unless that bomb is transfered to terrorists.

Israeli commentators retorted that Washington has labeled Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization, so the moment Tehran has a nuclear weapon it will already be in the hands of terrorists.