UN Report: Syria Was Building Nuclear Reactor Under Assad

Syria was constructing a nuclear reactor in the eastern Deir el-Zour province under the leadership of former President Bashar Assad, according to a United Nations report seen by The Associated Press. Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) visited several sites in Syria in August and confirmed the existence of a long-suspected nuclear facility.

The confidential report, circulated to member states, stated that the former Syrian authorities failed to report nuclear material, facilities, and activities as required under the NPT Safeguards Agreement. This undeclared program included a nuclear reactor built by North Korea, a fuel fabrication plant, and a site used for fuel storage.

The site in Deir el-Zour became public knowledge after Israel launched airstrikes in 2007 that destroyed the facility. Syria subsequently leveled the site and did not fully address the IAEA’s inquiries about it. In 2024, the IAEA took samples at the site, which the agency reported contained uranium particles last year.

During the August 29 visit, IAEA inspectors observed that "the cooling infrastructure which has now been uncovered is consistent with that of a nuclear reactor." The agency also identified three other locations that were "functionally related" to the Deir el-Zour site, involved in activities such as fuel fabrication and storage.

In addition to the reactor site, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi and a team of inspectors visited a newly identified undeclared site. Syria had notified the agency of this site in a July 17 letter, inviting cooperation for inspection. This new location contained approximately 73 tonnes of natural uranium metal in the form of fuel rods with cladding, which is now under IAEA containment and surveillance.

The new Syrian authorities have expressed interest in developing a civilian nuclear energy program, stating that any nuclear material found in the country would remain under international safeguards. Israel, which is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons, neither confirms nor denies its own atomic program.