IAEA: Reactor in Syria May Have Produced Material for Nuclear Weapons — Jerusalem Post
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said that a nuclear reactor in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor province, destroyed by Israeli aircraft in 2007, could have rapidly produced fissile material suitable for creating nuclear weapons. According to him, the facility was nearly complete at the time of the strike.
Reactor for producing fissile material
As The Jerusalem Post reports, Grossi described the reactor as highly efficient for producing fissile material that could have been directly used to manufacture nuclear weapons. At the same time, he stressed that the intentions of the Syrian authorities at the time cannot be assessed.
In a report to member states seen by Reuters, the IAEA confirmed its previous conclusion: the facility in Deir ez-Zor was a nuclear reactor under construction. The agency also established that fuel for it had been manufactured in Syria, although this information should have been declared to the IAEA.
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Cooperation between Syria’s new authorities and the agency
The IAEA called the recent investigation into secret nuclear activities under the rule of the Assad family a historic breakthrough. During it, around 73 metric tons of natural uranium in metallic form, mostly as reactor fuel, were discovered.
After former President Bashar al-Assad was removed from power at the end of 2024, Syria’s new authorities committed to cooperating with the agency on nuclear safeguards issues — the accounting for and control of nuclear materials. Grossi said that thanks to the access and information provided by Syria, the IAEA was able to clarify and resolve outstanding issues related to the country’s past nuclear activities.
