IAEA inspectors last month visited two sites in Syria. (AFP Photo)
The U.N. nuclear watchdog’s board of governors on Sept. 9 decided to close a long-time probe against Syria launched under ousted leader Bashar al-Assad after the country’s new authorities led agency experts to key nuclear sites.
Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last month visited two sites, one in Deir El-Zor and a second in an undisclosed location identified to them by Syrian authorities.
IAEA head Rafael Grossi said this week that a near-complete nuclear reactor found in Deir El-Zor and built secretly during the rule of al-Assad would have been able to produce material to make nuclear weapons.
The IAEA board “adopted by consensus” a text stating that a 2011 resolution finding Syria in non-compliance with its obligations was “terminated,” noting the current government’s cooperation, two diplomats told AFP.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry on X hailed the decision as “an important diplomatic and legal achievement for Syria”, adding it “opens new horizons for an international cooperation for peaceful uses of nuclear energy and technologies.”
The resolution, seen by AFP, was submitted by Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Saudi Arabia and “encourages Syria to continue its cooperation with the agency, including the excavation work at the site.”
It also “requests the director general to update the board, as appropriate, on the outcomes of ongoing activities of the agency” in Syria.
Assad was toppled in December 2024 and the current government came to power.
Grossi said this week that it was “obvious that the previous government was pursuing a number of clandestine” activities.
