Nuclear material in Syria was discovered and collected by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Saudi state-owned Al-Hadath reported on Tuesday, citing confirmation by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani.
According to the report, al-Shaibani emphasized that the material, discovered in Syria’s Dier al-Zor site, will remain in Syrian custody, “subject to IAEA guarantees.”
“We will provide the necessary conditions for handling nuclear materials and storing them safely,” said al-Shaibani, who further noted that Damascus, “on its own initiative,” permitted the IAEA to access the site.
Al-Shaibani made the comments at a joint press conference with IAEA chief Rafael Grossi in Damascus, where he added that Syria had the right to use the material for civil and peaceful purposes.
He noted that cooperation between Syria and the IAEA has reached “advanced stages.”
Syrian authorities working with IAEA over Assad nuclear legacy
Since the ouster of former president Bashar al-Assad in late 2024, Syria’s new authorities have committed to working with the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog to address the legacy of nuclear activities during decades of Assad family rule.
Grossi said the agency accessed the site after the Syrian government notified it.
Syria is not known to hold operational stockpiles of nuclear material for a weapons program, but Israel bombed a suspected Syrian nuclear reactor in 2007 in the country’s eastern province of Deir al-Zor.
Reuters contributed to this report.
