On September 6, 2007, Israeli Defense Forces executed a bombing raid on Syria aimed at destroying a bomb factory believed to have been assembling nuclear warheads. Syria's air defenses repelled Israeli war planes, but not until the fighters destroyed what Israelis believed to be a nuclear cache.

On August 14, 2007, North Korea's foreign trade minister, Rim Kyong Man, visited Syria to sign an agreement that facilitated the exchange of science and technology between the two nations. Syria's acquisition of North-Korean-made Scud-C missiles,Times Online: Israelis ‘blew apart Syrian nuclear cache’ (September 16, 2007) coupled with North Korea's ample supply of weapons grade plutonium, has led Israeli officials to believe that North Korea is working with Syria to develop nuclear weapons.Times Online: Israelis hit Syrian ‘nuclear bomb plant’ (December 2, 2007)