‘Syria built nuclear reactor in Deir Az Zor under Al-Assad’

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has confirmed that Syria attempted to construct a nuclear reactor in Deir Az Zor province during the reign of former President Bashar Al-Assad. According to a confidential IAEA report obtained by news agencies, the agency conducted verification work at several sites in Syria in August, which led to the discovery of "cooling infrastructure consistent with that of a nuclear reactor" at the Deir Az Zor site. The IAEA stated it would continue monitoring activities at the site as excavation work proceeds.

Syria is believed to have operated a vast undeclared nuclear program under Al-Assad, which included the nuclear reactor in Deir Az Zor, built by North Korea. The site gained public attention only after Israel launched air strikes in 2007 to destroy the facility. Syria subsequently demolished the site and did not provide full answers to the IAEA's inquiries about it.

Following the removal of Al-Assad in early December 2024, the new government permitted IAEA inspectors access to suspected nuclear sites. The agency collected samples at the Deir Az Zor site in 2024 and reported the previous year that they contained uranium particles. In its Tuesday report, the IAEA revealed that former Syrian authorities had failed to report nuclear material, facilities, and activities.

Apart from the nuclear reactor under construction, the IAEA identified a fuel fabrication plant, where the reactor's nuclear fuel was manufactured, and a location where nuclear fuel, uranium scrap, and waste were stored.