IAEA inspectors examine tons of undeclared nuclear material discovered in Syria
UN nuclear inspectors have gained access to tons of nuclear material at an undeclared facility in Syria following formal notification by the interim government in Damascus.
Discovery of undeclared nuclear material
Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency entered a previously undisclosed storage facility in Syria to examine several tons of nuclear material left behind by the former government. IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi announced the operation on 18 August 2026 during a joint press conference in Damascus. Syrian authorities had notified the agency in an official letter on 17 July 2026, voluntarily declaring the location and requesting international inspection. Grossi described the disclosure as a courageous step by the current administration. Agency experts completed an initial site visit on Tuesday morning, taking physical samples to verify the composition, origin, and safety conditions of the cache.
We're talking about a few tons of nuclear material that could be put to bad use and Syria has decided to open up this site to the inspectors of the IAEA.
Damascus commitments and civilian nuclear plans
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani stated that technical assessments conducted by domestic authorities indicate the material poses no active danger. Damascus affirmed that the inventory will remain in national custody while operating under formal international safeguards administered by the agency. Shaibani reaffirmed Syria's sovereign right to develop peaceful civilian nuclear energy for national needs. Syrian and international experts will work together to establish secure storage protocols for the material. Grossi stated that international accounting of the inventory allows both parties to resolve longstanding regulatory questions without ignoring past non-compliance.
On 17 July, we sent an official letter to the agency, in which we declared of our own free will the presence of nuclear materials at an undeclared site within the legacy left by the former regime.
Excavation work at the Deir el-Zour site
Alongside the newly declared storage site, agency inspectors began extensive exploratory excavation at the Deir el-Zour site in eastern Syria. The facility had remained closed for eighteen years following a 2007 Israeli airstrike that destroyed a suspected clandestine nuclear reactor built with North Korean assistance. Syria later leveled the area and left agency inquiries unanswered, resulting in an official 2011 determination that Damascus had breached safeguards obligations. Israel publicly acknowledged responsibility for the strike in 2018. Agency inspectors gathered samples from three locations in 2024, confirming uranium particles in 2025.
- Israeli airstrikes destroy suspected clandestine nuclear reactor at Deir el-Zour
- IAEA formally assesses Syria to be in non-compliance with nuclear safeguard rules
- Israel publicly admits conducting the 2007 airstrike on the Deir el-Zour reactor
- Bashar al-Assad is deposed and flees to Moscow following a fourteen-year civil war
- Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa grants the IAEA unrestricted access to nuclear sites
- Syria sends an official letter declaring tons of nuclear material at an undeclared facility
- IAEA inspectors complete initial site inspection and collect samples from the declared cache
Political transition and verification agreements
The expansion of international verification follows the political change in December 2024, when a coalition led by Ahmad al-Sharaa ended fourteen years of civil war, prompting former President Bashar al-Assad to flee to Moscow. In June 2025, interim President al-Sharaa granted the agency unrestricted access to inspect suspicious sites. Bilateral discussions involving Washington and Israeli officials previously outlined understandings for the agency to address legacy materials, including uranium concentrate at a location designated Site 99. The agency will now analyze collected samples to complete inventory records.
