The IAEA has urged Syria to cooperate absolutely over allegations it had been constructing a covert nuclear reactor on the web site – allegations Syria denies.
Revealed On 3 Sep 2025
The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog has mentioned its inspectors found uranium particles at a web site in Syria it suspects was as soon as used as a part of a clandestine nuclear programme run by the previous authorities of Bashar al-Assad.
Final 12 months, inspectors visited and took environmental samples at “three areas that have been allegedly functionally associated” to the distant desert web site Deir el-Zour, Worldwide Atomic Vitality Company (IAEA) spokesman Fredrik Dahl mentioned in a press release on Tuesday.
“Evaluation revealed a major variety of anthropogenic pure uranium particles in samples taken at one of many three areas. A few of these uranium particles are in keeping with the conversion of uranium ore focus to uranium oxide,” mentioned Dahl. This might be typical of a nuclear energy reactor.
IAEA Director-Common Rafael Grossi reported these findings to the company’s board of administrators on Monday in a report on developments in Syria.
The report additionally acknowledged that “the present Syrian authorities indicated that that they had no info which may clarify the presence of such uranium particles.”
The IAEA urged Syria on Tuesday to cooperate absolutely over allegations that it had been constructing a covert nuclear reactor at Deir Az Zor.
Syria has repeatedly denied these allegations.
The Deir Az Zor web site solely grew to become public information after Israel – which is the Center East’s solely state with nuclear weapons, though it has not declared its personal programme – launched air strikes in 2007, destroying the power. Syria later levelled the positioning and by no means responded absolutely to the IAEA’s questions.
An IAEA group visited some websites of curiosity final 12 months whereas al-Assad was nonetheless in energy. After al-Assad’s fall final December in a insurgent offensive on the capital Damascus, the brand new authorities led by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa agreed to cooperate with the company and once more supplied inspectors entry to the positioning the place the uranium particles had been discovered.
They took extra samples there and “will consider the outcomes of all the environmental samples taken at this location and the knowledge acquired from the deliberate go to to the positioning, and will conduct follow-up actions, as vital”, Dahl mentioned on Tuesday.
In an interview with The Related Press information company in June throughout a go to to Damascus, Grossi mentioned al-Sharaa had expressed an curiosity in pursuing nuclear vitality for Syria sooner or later. The IAEA mentioned Syria granted its inspectors entry to the situation for a second time to assemble extra samples.
Plenty of different international locations within the area are pursuing nuclear vitality in some kind. Grossi mentioned Syria would almost certainly be trying into small modular reactors, that are cheaper and simpler to deploy than conventional giant ones.
He additionally mentioned the IAEA is ready to assist Syria rebuild the radiotherapy, nuclear medication and oncology infrastructure in a well being system severely weakened by almost 14 years of civil battle.