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Syria’s Assad-Era Reactor Was Configured for Nuclear Weapons, IAEA Says

From Al Jazeera · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

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  • IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said a reactor at Syria’s Deir Az Zor facility could have produced fissile material suitable for nuclear weapons.
  • Inspectors recently confirmed that newly uncovered cooling infrastructure was consistent with a nuclear reactor and installed cameras at the site.
  • The material is now under IAEA safeguards as inspectors investigate the former Assad government’s undeclared nuclear activities with Syria’s new authorities.

A Syrian reactor destroyed by Israeli air strikes in 2007 was configured to produce fissile material that could have been used directly in nuclear weapons, according to the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said the facility at Deir Az Zor was “very efficient” at producing such material. His comments came a week after the UN nuclear watchdog disclosed that inspectors had visited several Syrian sites in August and carried out verification work.

At Deir Az Zor, the agency confirmed that cooling infrastructure uncovered during excavation matched the type used by a nuclear reactor. The IAEA said it would continue monitoring the site as excavation progresses.

Grossi said inspectors had to tear down walls and move through difficult, narrow passages to reach hidden nuclear material. Boxes were scattered throughout the site, he said. The material is now under IAEA safeguards, and inspectors have installed cameras there.

This is a reactor that is very efficient in the production of fissile material that could be used directly for the fabrication of nuclear weapons.

· Rafael GrossiThe IAEA director general described the weapons potential of the Deir Az Zor reactor.

The facility formed part of a suspected undeclared nuclear programme operated under former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The programme reportedly included a reactor built by North Korea. It became public after Israel destroyed the facility in 2007. Syria later levelled the site and did not fully answer the IAEA’s questions about it.

The agency has said Syria’s former authorities failed to declare nuclear material, facilities and activities. It has also identified a fuel fabrication plant that produced fuel for the reactor, along with storage for nuclear fuel, uranium scrap and waste.

During a visit last month, an IAEA team also inspected another previously undeclared site. Syria’s new administration, formed by the group that overthrew Assad in 2024, notified the agency about the site in July and invited inspectors to investigate.

The important thing is that this material now is under safeguards.

· Rafael GrossiGrossi said the IAEA had brought the recovered material under international monitoring.
About this summary

Originally published by Al Jazeera in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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