IAEA: Deir ez-Zor reactor was nearly complete and could have been used to produce weapons

Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), stated that the nuclear reactor discovered in the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor was nearly complete and could have been used to produce weapons.

Speaking at a press conference in Vienna, where the IAEA Board of Governors is holding its meetings this week, Grossi said, “The reactor was nearly complete, and its operation would have required only fuel loading.”

These remarks come days after a report issued by the UN agency revealed that the facilities found in Deir ez-Zor, which had been closed for 18 years and were linked to activities carried out during the Bashar al-Assad regime, matched the specifications of a nuclear reactor.

Although Grossi stopped short of explicitly stating that the program had military objectives, he emphasized that it was clear that Syrian officials at the time “did not want the world to know what they were doing.”

Nevertheless, Grossi added, “We know that, given the design of this type of reactor and its technical characteristics, it constitutes a highly efficient reactor for producing fissile materials that can be used directly in the manufacture of nuclear weapons.”

Grossi did not rule out the possibility that Syrian authorities at the time had “carried out explosions” to obstruct any investigation aimed at “more precisely determining the nature of what was there.”

He welcomed the cooperation and transparency shown by the current Syrian authorities, considering this “of paramount importance for Syria to revive its economy and restore its relations with the international community in political, economic, and other fields.”

He clarified that the decision on the Syrian file now rests with the IAEA Board of Governors, affirming that the International Atomic Energy Agency would continue to work with Damascus to ensure the safety of materials and to report on its findings.