DAMASCUS: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has confirmed that Syria attempted to construct a nuclear reactor in the eastern province of Deir Az Zor during the rule of ousted President Bashar al-Assad.
In a confidential report reviewed by international news agencies, the UN nuclear watchdog said its inspectors visited several locations across Syria in August and carried out verification activities related to the country’s past nuclear programme.
The IAEA said investigations at the Deir Az Zor site found a previously uncovered cooling system that was consistent with infrastructure used for a nuclear reactor. The agency said it would continue monitoring the location as excavation work advances.
Syria had been suspected for years of operating an undeclared nuclear programme under al-Assad. The suspected reactor at Deir Az Zor was reportedly being developed with assistance from North Korea.
The facility came to international attention in 2007 when Israel carried out an airstrike that destroyed the site. Syrian authorities later levelled the location and did not provide the IAEA with complete answers about the facility.
The latest report said the former Syrian authorities had failed to declare nuclear material, facilities and activities to the agency as required under international safeguards.
The IAEA identified several locations linked to the suspected programme. These included a nuclear fuel fabrication facility and a separate site where nuclear fuel, uranium scrap and nuclear waste were stored.
Following the fall of al-Assad’s government in December 2024, Syria’s new authorities agreed to cooperate with the IAEA and allow inspectors access to suspected former nuclear sites.
The agency had already collected samples from the Deir Az Zor location in 2024. Subsequent analysis found uranium particles in the samples, strengthening concerns over the nature of the site.
During its latest mission, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi and a team of senior inspectors also visited another site that had not previously been declared to the agency.
The Syrian government informed the IAEA about the site through a letter dated July 17. Damascus invited the agency to work with Syrian authorities to inspect and verify the location and determine whether nuclear material was present.
According to the IAEA, inspectors found natural uranium metal at the site in the form of fuel rods with protective cladding.
The agency verified approximately 73 tonnes of natural uranium metal at the location. It said the material is currently under IAEA containment and surveillance measures.
The findings add new details to longstanding international concerns about Syria’s nuclear activities during the al-Assad era. The IAEA’s latest assessment also highlights the extent of information that was not previously disclosed by the former Syrian authorities.
