IAEA to visit Syria over nuclear material left by Assad regime

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will send a delegation to Syria in the coming days to address nuclear material remnants from the Assad era, according to the Syrian Atomic Agency. This follows reports that the IAEA plans to evacuate nuclear material from Site 99, a clandestine site in Syria. Syria's atomic agency announced this via Telegram, expressing readiness to discuss "significant progress" made by Damascus in collaboration with the UN nuclear watchdog and the US.

The IAEA's objective is to address the legacy of the deposed Assad regime and fully restore Syria's engagement with the IAEA, as reported by the official Sana news agency. This development is the result of months of diplomatic efforts by the Trump administration to secure an understanding with Syria and Israel regarding Site 99.

The agreement's aim is to secure the nuclear material at the site and prevent potential escalation involving Israel, Syria, and possibly Turkey. The material at Site 99 is believed to be yellow cake, a powder derived from uranium ore that can be further processed in the nuclear fuel cycle. Although it cannot produce a nuclear weapon, it can be used in a "dirty bomb," a conventional explosive device designed to disperse radioactive material.

Despite Israel's bombing of the complex in 2007, which largely destroyed the facility, several research, development, and storage sites remained, although most were inactive. Israeli officials revealed that the Israeli army had bombed the entrances to Site 99 to prevent access to the material after the regime's fall. Until the removal of the remaining nuclear material, the operation at Site 99 remains ongoing, according to US officials.