Syrian reactor could have produced material for nuclear weapons if completed, UN says
Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.
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- The IAEA chief said a nearly completed reactor secretly built under Bashar al-Assad could have produced fissile material for possible nuclear weapons.
- Inspectors visited sites in Deir ez-Zor and another undisclosed location identified by Syrian authorities.
- The disclosure concerns a facility built during the rule of Syria’s toppled former leader.
A secret reactor built during Bashar al-Assad’s rule was close to completion and could have produced fissile material for possible use in nuclear weapons, according to the head of the UN nuclear watchdog.
The facility formed part of a concealed nuclear program under the toppled Syrian leader. The disclosure came after inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency visited two sites in Syria last month.
One site was in Deir ez-Zor. Syrian authorities also identified a second location to the inspectors, but its whereabouts have not been disclosed. The IAEA’s findings have brought renewed attention to what the reactor might have enabled had construction been completed.
About this summary
Originally published by The Guardian 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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