The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog has uncovered traces of uranium in Syria, reigniting concerns over the nature of a site destroyed by Israel nearly two decades ago, Reuters reported on Monday.
According to a confidential report shared with member states, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) found “a significant number of natural uranium particles” at one of three locations allegedly linked to the Deir al-Zor facility, which Israel targeted in 2007.
The IAEA stated that the uranium was of “anthropogenic origin,” meaning it had undergone chemical processing. While the uranium was not enriched, the agency has not yet determined the implications of its presence.
The Deir al-Zor site, long suspected by the IAEA of being an undeclared nuclear reactor, was described by the now-deposed Assad regime as a conventional military base. In 2011, the agency concluded the building was “very likely” a covert reactor that Syria failed to declare.
Under renewed investigative efforts last year, the IAEA gained access to three unnamed sites functionally tied to Deir al-Zor. Syria’s current Islamist-led government allowed further sampling at one of these locations in June and has pledged cooperation.
During a June meeting between IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, Damascus agreed to “full transparency” regarding its past nuclear activities. Grossi requested Syria’s assistance in returning to Deir al-Zor “in the next few months” to conduct additional analysis and interview individuals involved in the site’s history.
The IAEA chief previously visited Syria in March of 2024, nine months before the collapse of the Assad regime, where he met with Assad and his foreign minister.
Grossi’s 2024 visit to Syria marked the first time in 13 years that IAEA officials have visited Syria. IAEA inspectors last visited the country in 2011, the year the civil war in Syria began.
In 2015, Syria asked the IAEA for help in converting a nuclear facility and shipping abroad potentially dangerous nuclear material.