UN atomic watchdog says found tons of nuclear material at Syria site
The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog said Tuesday its inspectors had found several tons of nuclear material in Syria, at a site Damascus reported to the agency last month. The inspectors visited two sites, one in Deir Ezzor and "a second location related to the nuclear material identified by Syria recently", according to a joint statement.
The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, announced that inspectors had found several tons of nuclear material in Syria. The material was discovered at a site that Damascus reported to the agency last month. According to Grossi, the site, which dates back to the rule of Bashar al-Assad, was visited by inspectors along with a second location in Deir Ezzor.
The nuclear material, which amounts to "a few tons", will be put under international safeguards, Grossi said. He praised Damascus's "courageous decision" to report the undisclosed site. According to Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, the materials do not pose a risk and will remain in Syrian national custody, subject to the agency's safeguards system.
Grossi also mentioned that he toured a site that was bombed by Israel in 2007 and is increasingly convinced that the site was a nuclear facility. The material found will be accounted for and secured, according to Grossi, who warned that it could be misused if not properly secured.
Brief written by urgent.news from Al-Monitor, Le Monde English, Dawn, The Times of Israel, Ajel English — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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- IAEA chief: Tons of nuclear material found in Syria could be misused english.ajel.sa
- Syria opens Assad-era nuclear programme to UN probe aljazeera.com
