Libya operates a Soviet-supplied research reactor at the Tajura Nuclear Research Center, located about 60 kilometers east of Tripoli. The 10-megawatt reactor started operation in 1983 and is open to international inspection.
Libya is a member of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), but the United States Government has determined that Libya wants to build the bomb. In its 1994 Annual Report, the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) concludes: “Libya has demonstrated a continuing interest in the acquisition of nuclear weapons, but its nuclear program has not progressed beyond the early stages….”
Over the years, Libya has tried to buy nuclear equipment and technology from suppliers worldwide, but with little success. Today, Libya has virtually no industrial ability in the nuclear field, and international export controls remain the principal barrier to the development of a Libyan bomb.