UN nuclear chief says secret Syrian reactor could have made weapons material

A secret reactor built during Bashar al-Assad’s rule in Syria could have produced material suitable for nuclear weapons if construction had been completed, according to Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Grossi said the reactor’s design and technical characteristics would have made it highly efficient at producing fissile material. He described its construction as a significant step in what he said appeared to be a clandestine effort by Syria’s previous government. IAEA inspectors visited two locations in August. One was in Deir ez-Zor, where cooling infrastructure uncovered at the site was consistent with that of a nuclear reactor. The second location had not previously been declared to the agency and was identified by Syrian authorities. Syria notified the IAEA about that site in a July 17 letter and invited inspectors to examine it and verify any nuclear material there. According to a confidential IAEA report circulated to member states and seen by the Associated Press, inspectors found natural uranium metal in the form of fuel rods with cladding. The agency verified approximately 73 tonnes of the material. Grossi said inspectors had to break through walls and navigate narrow passages to reach the uranium, which was hidden amid scattered boxes. The IAEA installed cameras at the site and placed the material under its safeguards. Grossi said the agency’s priority was maintaining knowledge of the material’s location, rather than directing Syria on whether it should remain in the country. The uranium is not directly usable in a nuclear weapon, according to Logan Mintz of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, who said it could nevertheless be diverted to a weapons program for further processing into plutonium. She also said any future transportation would require strong protection against theft or sabotage. The IAEA has long investigated allegations of an undeclared Syrian nuclear program. In 2018, Israel acknowledged that it had carried out a 2007 airstrike on the Deir ez-Zor site. US officials later accused Syria of attempting to build a secret reactor and said Israel had destroyed it. After Assad was ousted in December 2024, Syria’s new government agreed to allow IAEA inspectors access to suspected former nuclear sites.