VIENNA, (AP) – Syria’s nuclear chief is suggesting the U.N. nuclear agency’s discovery of new uranium traces in the country do not harden allegations that Damascus has a hidden nuclear program.

Ibrahim Othman’s comments are the first from Syria about the International Atomic Energy Agency’s recent announcement that it found unexplained traces of uranium at a Syrian site for the second time.

Othman played down the discovery Tuesday and described it as only “one particle or two particles.”

The IAEA has been investigating Syria since Israel bombed a Syrian site in 2007 that the U.S. says was a secret nuclear reactor built with North Korean help.

The agency’s 35-nation board is preparing to debate allegations that Damascus was running such a program.