The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog says its inspectors have found traces of uranium at a Syrian site once believed to be part of a secret nuclear program under former President Bashar Assad.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed the discovery at Deir el-Zour, where Israeli jets destroyed a building in September 2007 suspected of housing a nuclear reactor.
Israel did not officially acknowledge the strike until 2018, though it had long been suspected of carrying out the attack to prevent Damascus from developing nuclear weapons.
The IAEA’s latest findings suggest Israel was correct in its assessment. The report noted that the reactor in eastern Deir el-Zour province — allegedly built with North Korean assistance near the Iraqi border — was part of an undeclared program.
IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi said some Syrian activities “were, in the judgment of the agency, probably related to nuclear weapons.”
Last year, inspectors collected environmental samples at three locations allegedly linked to the Deir el-Zour site. Analysis revealed “a significant number of anthropogenic natural uranium particles in samples taken at one of the three locations,” IAEA spokesman Fredrik Dahl said.
“Some of these uranium particles are consistent with the conversion of uranium ore concentrate to uranium oxide,” he explained, calling the material typical for use in a nuclear power reactor.
The IAEA noted that Syria’s new Islamist-led government claimed to have no knowledge of the particles’ origin. However, it has granted the agency further access, including permission in June to collect additional samples, the IAEA announced.
