IAEA confirms Syria hid nuclear reactor project from UN inspectors
IAEA verification visits in August establish Syria's failure to declare nuclear material and facilities, including a reactor in Deir el-Zour.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has concluded that Syria's former government breached its international obligations by failing to declare nuclear material and related activities, according to a confidential report circulated to member states.
Inspectors from the UN nuclear watchdog carried out verification work at several locations inside Syria during August. The findings from those visits led the agency to state that it is now able to establish that the previous Syrian authorities did not meet reporting requirements under the NPT Safeguards Agreement.
The undeclared items included a nuclear reactor that was under construction at Deir el-Zour, along with a fuel fabrication plant and a separate site intended for fuel storage. The report does not specify the current status of these facilities or whether any nuclear material remains at the locations.
The disclosure adds to longstanding concerns about Syria's nuclear activities, which have been under international scrutiny for years. The IAEA's latest assessment is based on direct on-site verification rather than satellite imagery or third-party information.
The report has been shared with the agency's member states but remains confidential. No further details about the scope of the inspections or the timeline of the undeclared activities have been made public.