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Deir ez-Zor Reactor Findings
The International Atomic Energy Agency said in a confidential report released on Tuesday that infrastructure discovered in the city of Deir ez-Zor in eastern Syria conforms to the structure of a nuclear reactor.
“confirmed that infrastructure discovered in the city of Deir ez-Zor in eastern Syria conforms to the structure of a nuclear reactor”
The IAEA said its on-site observations showed that the cooling facility uncovered at the site matches a nuclear reactor design, while also noting that it will continue to monitor the site, which is currently under inspection.
The IAEA also reported finding about 73 tons of natural uranium at one Syrian site, including about 55 tons in the form of 8808 fuel rods, and nearly 18 tons of uranium scrap and waste.
In a separate UN report seen by Associated Press, inspectors with the UN nuclear watchdog visited several sites in Syria in August and the IAEA reported it is “able to establish that the former Syrian authorities had failed to report nuclear material, facilities and activities as required under the NPT Safeguards Agreement.”
Damascus, Grossi, and Uranium
The IAEA report welcomed Damascus’s transparency and cooperation with it, saying such transparency helps address longstanding safeguards issues related to Syria’s previous nuclear activities.
Syrian Foreign Minister Assad Shihabani affirmed his country’s insistence on its right to use nuclear energy for civilian and peaceful purposes, stressing that the nuclear materials at a secret site inside Syria will remain under the custody of the Syrian state and guaranteed by the IAEA.
At a joint press conference in Damascus with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, Shihabani said, “Damascus will work to provide the necessary conditions to process and securely store those materials, in coordination with the agency.”
The IAEA said it would continue to monitor activities at the site, and in the same reporting it described the cooling infrastructure as consistent with a nuclear reactor structure while inspections were ongoing.
Safeguards Closure, Iran Contrast
The IAEA report described the Deir ez-Zor reactor-related safeguards questions as clarified through Damascus’s cooperation, with one account saying the agency had resolved outstanding issues in its inquiry into past secret nuclear activities in Syria during the Assad family rule.
“resolved the outstanding issues in its inquiry into past secret nuclear activities in Syria”
Reuters, as cited in one report, said the IAEA was able, based on information supplied by the Syrian authorities, to clarify its inquiries regarding outstanding safeguards issues previously reported to the IAEA Board of Governors.
In contrast, the same Reuters-linked reporting said a separate IAEA quarterly report on Iran showed no progress on its nuclear file, with the agency remaining unable to verify the status of Iran’s uranium stocks since the American and Israeli attacks in June 2025.
The IAEA stressed that its inability to verify the status of these nuclear materials is a concern for nuclear weapons proliferation, given ongoing restrictions on inspectors’ access to Iranian facilities.