UN nuclear watchdog board wraps up probe into Syria’s past secret nuclear activities

VIENNA (AP) — The board of the U.N. nuclear watchdog on Wednesday adopted a resolution ending its investigation into past secret nuclear activities in Syria that revealed a reactor configured to produce fissile material for possible use in nuclear weapons.

Under ousted former President Bashar Assad, Syria was believed to have operated an extensive undeclared nuclear program that included a reactor built by North Korea in eastern Deir el-Zour province.

The 35-member board of governors of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency adopted the resolution unanimously, according to diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the outcome of the closed-door vote.

Delegates could be heard applauding inside the board room as the resolution was adopted, ending the investigation after almost two decades.

The resolution was put forward by Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Saudi Arabia.

In June 2011, the IAEA Board of Governors found Syria in non-compliance with its nonproliferation obligations for secretly constructing a nuclear reactor in Deir el-Zour and reported the matter to the U.N. Security Council and the U.N. General Assembly to consider sanctions.

Under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the safeguards agreement Syria has with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, Syria is legally bound to declare all nuclear material and activities to the agency and allow IAEA inspectors to verify that none of it is being diverted from peaceful uses.

Following Assad’s ouster in December 2024, the new authorities in Damascus agreed to give IAEA inspectors access to suspected former nuclear sites.

Wednesday’s draft resolution, which was seen by The Associated Press, therefore decided to “terminate” the provisions of the 2011 resolution, ending the IAEA investigation into Syria’s non-compliance.

The draft resolution, however, underlined that Syria “remains bound” by its obligations under the Nonproliferation Treaty and the safeguards agreement and encourages Syria “to continue its cooperation with the Agency, including the excavation work” at the site of the nuclear reactor.

It also requested the head of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, to continue updating the board on the “outcomes of ongoing activities” in Syria.

The site in Deir el-Zour only became public knowledge after Israel launched airstrikes in 2007 that destroyed the facility. Syria later leveled the site and never responded fully to the IAEA’s questions about it.

The draft resolution welcomed “the transparency and cooperation” of Syria’s new authorities and commended them “for the actions taken in resolving its non-compliance.”

During a visit to Syria in August, Grossi and a team of senior inspectors observed the ongoing excavation work of the Deir el-Zour reactor.

They also inspected additional locations, including sites for fuel fabrication and fuel storage and for planned reprocessing activities.

The IAEA chief and a team of senior agency officials also inspected a previously undeclared site in Syria where they witnessed the unearthing of 73 tonnes of natural uranium metal, of which 55 tonnes were in the form of fuel rods.

All of this material has been placed under IAEA surveillance measures.

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