IAEA and Syria hail progress on resolving Assad's nuclear secrets

Syria and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have made significant progress in resolving nuclear safeguarding issues stemming from the Assad regime, according to Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shibani and IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi. They shared this news at a press conference in Damascus following Grossi's two-day visit to Syria. The visit encompassed a site in Deir Ezzor and another undisclosed location linked to nuclear material recently identified by Syria.

Shibani revealed that Syria had proactively informed the IAEA about the issues, aiming for complete transparency and to establish Syria as a beacon of regional stability and security. For the first time in nearly two decades, Syria granted the IAEA access to a secret nuclear site in Deir Ezzor's eastern region. The regime reportedly stored nuclear material for the Al Kibar nuclear reactor project at Site 99, which was an unfinished nuclear research facility in Deir Ezzor. The complex was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in 2007, halting Syria's nuclear program.

Shibani emphasized that the visits aim to address the past regime's nuclear activities while Syria looks forward to cooperating with the international community on peaceful nuclear applications. Grossi noted that the IAEA began working with Syria's current government 1.5 years ago, and the country has regained its status within the international community as a state fully adhering to all its legal obligations regarding nuclear non-proliferation.

Unlike the previous regime, which showed no cooperation in this area, Syria has affirmed its sovereign responsibility over all nuclear material on its territory and will continue to fulfill its international obligations and national interests.

The IAEA has been investigating Syria's undeclared nuclear activities since 2008, after receiving information about the Deir Ezzor facility. In 2011, the agency concluded that the site was likely a nuclear reactor and found Syria in non-compliance with its safeguards obligations.