Uranium from Syria's undeclared reactor is placed under IAEA safeguards
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said the Assad-era reactor at Deir ez-Zor was configured to produce fissile material usable in nuclear weapons. Inspectors reached concealed material in August, and an agency report seen by AP says about 73 tonnes of natural uranium metal was verified at a newly disclosed site. Grossi said the material is now under IAEA safeguards.
Geopolitics··Morning
The reactor configuration suited weapons-material production
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said the configuration and technical features of the Deir ez-Zor reactor were highly efficient for producing fissile material that could be used directly in nuclear weapons. Al Jazeera and the Associated Press both reported his assessment at the IAEA Board of Governors meeting in Vienna on September 7. Grossi also said the former Syrian government's intent could not be judged.[1], [2]
Inspectors reached material hidden behind walls
Agency inspectors entered the site in August 2026, breaking through walls and navigating narrow passages to reach concealed material. Cooling infrastructure exposed during the excavation was among the physical evidence the IAEA found consistent with a nuclear reactor. North Korea had built the reactor, which was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in 2007 before the site was levelled. The authorities who took power after Assad's fall disclosed the previously undeclared site to the agency in July.[1], [2]
About 73 tonnes of natural uranium is under safeguards
A confidential IAEA report seen by the Associated Press says inspectors verified about 73 tonnes of natural uranium metal in clad fuel rods at the newly disclosed site. Grossi said the material is now under agency safeguards and cameras have been installed. A nonproliferation specialist told AP that natural uranium metal is not directly usable in a weapon but can be processed to produce plutonium. The quantity comes solely from the report reviewed by AP.[2]
