Grossi: Deir ez-Zor reactor was prepared for nuclear weapons production

Vienna – Agencies: IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi 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. Grossi said at a press conference in Vienna, where the IAEA Board of Governors is holding its meetings this week, “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 were linked to activities carried out during the regime of former President Bashar al-Assad, matched the specifications of a nuclear reactor. Although he stopped short of explicitly stating that the program had military objectives, Grossi emphasized that it was clear that the Syrian officials at the time “did not want the world to know what they were doing.” He 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 the Syrian authorities at the time had “carried out explosions” to obstruct any investigation aimed at “more precisely determining the nature of what was there.” The site in Deir ez-Zor, in eastern Syria, has been closed for 18 years.