The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has confirmed that Syria attempted to construct a nuclear reactor in the eastern province of Deir Az Zor during the rule of former President Bashar al-Assad.
In a confidential report released on Tuesday, the UN nuclear watchdog said its inspectors visited several sites in Syria in August as part of verification activities.
According to the report, observations at the Deir Az Zor site showed that newly uncovered cooling infrastructure was consistent with that of a nuclear reactor. The agency said it would continue monitoring the site as excavation work progresses.
Syria had long been suspected of operating an undeclared nuclear programme, including a reactor believed to have been constructed with assistance from North Korea.
The facility became publicly known after Israel carried out an air strike in 2007 that destroyed the site. Syrian authorities subsequently levelled the area and did not fully respond to the IAEA's questions regarding the facility.
The IAEA said Syria's former authorities had failed to declare nuclear materials, facilities and activities, including the reactor project, a fuel fabrication facility and a location where nuclear fuel, uranium scrap and nuclear waste were stored.
The agency said it collected samples from the Deir Az Zor site in 2024, with laboratory analysis later detecting uranium particles.
During a recent visit, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi and senior inspectors also inspected another previously undeclared location. The new Syrian administration had notified the agency about the site in a letter dated July 17 and invited inspectors to verify the facility and any nuclear material found there.
The IAEA reported that the site contained natural uranium metal in the form of fuel rods with cladding. Inspectors verified the material and estimated that approximately 73 tonnes of natural uranium metal were present.
The agency said all of the material is currently under its containment and surveillance measures.
Since the fall of Assad in December 2024, Syria's new authorities have agreed to provide IAEA inspectors with access to suspected former nuclear sites.
The new administration has also expressed interest in developing a civilian nuclear energy programme and has said that any nuclear material discovered in the country would remain under Syrian custody and be subject to international safeguards.
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