IAEA delegation inspects site containing "a few tons" of nuclear materials in Syria

Syria announced on Tuesday that it had allowed a delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to enter an undisclosed site from the former regime’s era, which contains “a few tons” of nuclear material that could be “misused,” according to IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.

In Damascus, during a joint press conference with Grossi, Shabani stated, “On July 17, we sent an official message to the Agency, declaring with free will the existence of nuclear material at an undisclosed site as part of the legacy left by the fallen regime.”

He added that Syria had invited the Agency to verify the site, and that “the Director General and the Agency team completed their visit to the site and collected the necessary samples this morning,” without specifying its geographic location.

According to Shabani, “technical assessments” indicate that “these materials do not pose a threat,” clarifying that they “will remain under Syrian national custody and subject to the Agency’s safeguards system.”

For his part, Grossi confirmed the visit to the “secret” site.

During the press conference, addressing Shabani, Grossi said, “Following your courageous decision to inform us about the existence of a site where nuclear material was stored, we were able to gain access to this location.”

He added, “This is of great importance… as we are talking about a few tons of nuclear material that could be misused.”

He further stated, “Our experts will now work intensively with your experts. We have been able to access and inspect the site, but we still have a lot of work ahead to account for all this material and secure it safely.”

Grossi remarked, “We are now turning the page. We have begun to turn the page, and turning the page does not mean forgetting the past.”

During his visit, Grossi also inspected the Kibar site in Deir ez-Zor province in eastern Syria, which has been closed for 18 years and is suspected by the Agency of having housed a nuclear reactor. Israel admitted in 2018 to bombing the site in 2007.

According to Grossi, Agency teams are currently conducting “extensive excavation and exploration work” at the Deir ez-Zor site, describing it as “of paramount importance because it confirms the assessment long held by the IAEA, namely that a nuclear facility was being built in secret.”

Grossi’s visit follows a report published on August 10 by the US outlet Axios, which cited Israeli and American officials stating that the IAEA would remove “nuclear material stored at a secret site in Syria” after the United States “reached understandings with Syria and Israel” on the matter.

Axios noted that Israel had been closely monitoring a site known as “Site 99,” where the former regime had stored nuclear material that was “part of the Kibar nuclear reactor project.”